A longstanding cannabis store in downtown San Francisco is set to close its doors Saturday after its founder was shot seven times in front of the shop in broad daylight last week. The store’s owner was released from the hospital but told the San Francisco Standard that he is still dealing with injuries and trauma from the jarring daytime attack.
Martin Olive was taking a smoke break in front of his Vapor Room cannabis store on Ninth Street in SoMa just before 5 p.m. on Jan. 27 when a man got off an electric bike and pulled a gun from his pocket, using two hands to aim and shoot Olive at point-blank range, according to a surveillance video released by the San Francisco Police Department.
Olive fell to the ground, and then the shooting suspect, identified by police as Cheasarack Chong, 34, allegedly continued to fire at Olive as he lay on the street. In total, Olive was shot seven times with bullets striking his ear, jaw, and back, with shrapnel nearly striking his spinal column, according to an Instagram post from Olive. He said he also broke seven ribs and punctured a lung.
Police later killed Chong after he barricaded himself in his apartment located above the Vapor Room and allegedly fired a shot at law enforcement.
Olive told KTVU that he has no recollection of meeting or interacting with Chong before last week’s shooting. Chong was previously acquitted of attempted murder in 2018.
Olive spent six nights in the hospital before he was released on Feb. 4 but continues to struggle from both the physical injuries as well as PTSD and nightmares from the trauma, according to an interview with the San Francisco Standard. A GoFundMe has been set up to raise funds to cover the medical bills and other expenses related to the tragedy.
Olive has been a cannabis advocate for decades and founded the Vapor Room in 2003 during the medical marijuana era prior to full legalization in the state. The store considers itself the oldest continuously operating pot store in San Francisco.
Vapor Room was already struggling to stay in business prior to the shooting. Legal pot stores across California are on the verge of failure as the industry faces an economic downturn, high taxes and competition from illicit stores. The industry collective owes $1.3 billion in back taxes and penalties to the state. Olive previously told SFGATE that the store owed state taxes and that he was looking for investors to help keep the store afloat. He had also said the city was not doing enough to keep SoMa safe, with the surrounding street chaos pushing customers away from his store.
Olive told the Standard that he and his partners were already thinking of closing prior to the shooting, but then last week’s tragedy forced their hand to close the SoMa store.
“I need to regroup… our goal is to reopen bigger, better, stronger, and more awesome, with the help of the community,” Olive told the Standard.
The store’s final day open will be this Saturday, with a farewell party from noon to 5 p.m.
H/T: www.sfgate.com
