A man fired a gun into the air in downtown Olympia Wednesday evening, police say
Police arrested a 27-year-old man who they believe fired a handgun into the air near the Olympia Transit Center Wednesday evening.
Multiple people called 911 at about 7 p.m. to report the sound of gunshots in the area, Lt. Paul Lower of the Olympia Police Department told The Olympian on Thursday.
Several people waved down officers as they approached the scene and described what they witnessed, Lower said. Officers learned that a group of people assembled in an alleyway near Washington Street had been arguing.
One member of the group fired a handgun into the air multiple times, Lower said. Officers found spent shell casings at the scene, but it appeared no one was hurt.
Witnesses shared “good descriptions” of the man who they said fired the gun, Lower said, and police tracked him down to an apartment on Capitol Way South.
Officers contacted the man at the apartment and arrested him without a problem, Lower said. Using a search warrant, officers found a handgun inside the apartment with bullets that matched the shell casings at the scene.
Clothing that matched the description shared by witnesses was also found inside the apartment, he added.
Officers booked the man into the county jail Wednesday on suspicion of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm and reckless endangerment, according to court records.
“Thank you to all the witnesses who helped out with this,” Lower said.
