OLYMPIA, Wash. — Drew Langer was shocked at the scene outside his window while working at Schwartz’s Café in Olympia last Saturday.
“We saw a group of maybe 30, 40 people in military gear and various weapons and American flags and camo kind of stuff,” Langer recalled.
As the group made its way down Washington Street, Langer said he was worried he would cross paths with them.
“My first thought was, ‘I hope they don’t come in,’” he said. “They ended up turning the corner, so that was kind of a relief.”
Police released this video showing two groups, one allied with Antifa, the other with the Proud Boys, at the bus station on State Avenue.
Police say the Proud Boys were pursuing members of the group allied with Antifa, before clashing at the bus station.
The clash ended in multiple people being assaulted, and police confirmed that the shots were fired by someone from the Antifa group, and the bullet struck a member of the Proud Boys.
While police investigate, Olympians are trying to make sense of the violence brought into their city. City residents are also worried this might not be the end.
“Knowing that they were hunting members of our community by name, feels really unsafe and concerning. It doesn’t feel good for the people that actually live here,” said Alden Davis, owner of Underhill Plants.
“I’ve had to change my schedule so I don’t have employees who feel unsafe scheduled when they know that they’re supposed to be coming back,” Davis said.
Olympia Police encourage anyone with any information on Saturday’s shooting to reach out to them at Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-8477.