Martin Olive was shot on the sidewalk in front of his dispensary near Mission and Ninth Streets on Monday evening. Following a standoff at a nearby building, San Francisco police officers shot and killed the suspect.
The identity of the suspect is not presently known.
Employees of neighboring businesses said they heard five gunshots just before 5 p.m. Olive was standing outside his store when he was shot. It is unclear what, if anything, precipitated the shooting.
Sultan Al ryashi, an employee of Go Go Market & Deli at 99 Ninth St., said he called the police and stepped out onto the sidewalk two minutes later.
A handful of people were already crowded around Olive, video captured by Al ryashi shows. One woman was crouched over, wearing just her bra as she held her light pink shirt against Olive’s head to staunch the bleeding.
“Somebody please help me,” Olive cried as others screamed “over here” and the sound of sirens drew closer. A line of blood ran toward the street.
Four minutes later, Al ryashi said, first responders’ vehicles pulled up to the curb.
Olive, the founder of Vapor Room, was being treated by paramedics for apparent gunshot wounds when SFPD officers arrived on the scene. He was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. According to Jason Grace, a friend who has organized a GoFundMe for him, Olive was struck four times in the face and lungs.
Officers, meanwhile, set up a perimeter around a nearby building where they believed the suspect was. The suspect, according to the SFPD, “failed to comply and refused to exit the building.”
Specialist, Tactical, and Hostage Negotiation teams were called in to take over from field officers. They made brief contact with the suspect, but made little progress.
The officers began to shoot out the windows of the apartment building with less-lethal foam rounds and deployed gas, Mission Local learned. The suspect started shooting at the officers.
“During this contact, an officer-involved shooting occurred,” the SFPD wrote. “Officers made entry and located the suspect, who was suffering from life-threatening injuries.”
Mission Local is told that the suspect was armed with two pistols and a rifle and shot at officers with both a pistol and the rifle.
First responders’ aid efforts were too late. The suspect was pronounced dead in the apartment, where a firearm was later recovered during an investigation.
No officers were harmed.
By Tuesday morning, many of the unhoused people who sleep on the sidewalk outside the dispensary and neighboring buildings had moved. Some people, however, still sat on the sidewalk, talking to the numerous reporters on-scene.
A bullet hole could be seen in one of the ground floor windows of the meeting house, though its source was not confirmed by employees. A puddle of white foamy cleaning liquid still stood by the curb outside the dispensary.
“When I went to sleep my mind was with the guy shot,” said AJ, another employee of Go Go Market. “When I woke up my mind was in the same place.”
Olive, he added, has always been a “very, very, nice man.”
“Martin is not just a beloved friend — he’s an irreplaceable part of the Bay Area Community,” wrote Grace on Olive’s fundraiser site. He’s “one of the most vibrant, hilarious, and greatest humans I know.”
Additional reporting by Joe Eskenazi.
This is heartbreaking 💔. Martin is the nicest person and has helped so many people in SF for years. I hope he pulls through.
Hopefully Olive pulls through. Kudos to SFPD for quickly neutralizing the shooter before others were hurt.
For anyone to shoot someone probed out laying on the ground, l’m glad he’s not around anymore
Mission Local was the best news article, gave the most information, and renewed my hope in SFPD and my neighborhood. I live at 9th St & Natoma St, half block from Mission St and the incident. I was disturbed by the initial seemingly nonchalance. I walked multiple times nearby and the traffic officer who was blocking the road did not say anything to us. I had to ask him what was going on; contrary to “police was keeping the public away while the shooter was still at large”. The news was very limited and I was even having doubts the police shot the correct person until this article. It’s also great to hear how other people on the street and Sultan Al ryashi helped. I really hope Martin recovers and donated on GoFundMe. I was worried this incident will just fade and be forgotten, including the victim.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-martin-olive-heal-after-tragic-shooting
Thank You
Dangerous business