Troopers ask public to help identify second shooter at Capitol Campus confrontation
State troopers are looking for a second person who fired a weapon Saturday when two groups clashed near the Capitol Campus, according to a Tuesday news release.
The confrontation was between supporters of President Trump and counter-protesters, and lead to at least one person suffering a gunshot wound and three arrests, including the one shooter, a Bellingham man, law enforcement believes injured the one man.
Troopers are asking the public to help identify a second shooter. There are no reports of additional injuries resulting from this second shooting, the release read.
“Individuals and groups who come to Olympia not to speak but to engage in armed conflict and other unlawful acts are not welcomed and will face a full and firm response from law enforcement,” said WSP Chief John Batiste in the release.
A Thurston County Superior Court commissioner set bail at $50,000 Monday for the Bellingham man accused of first-degree assault while armed with a firearm. The court also set bail for two others accused of assaulting deputies and resisting arrest during the fracas.
The first shooting occurred at 2:02 p.m. near the intersection of 15th Avenue Southwest and Columbia Street and left a 20-year-old man with serious injuries who required surgery at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.
In court documents, investigators noted they received footage and found evidence of a person dressed in black, a look commonly associated with anti-fascist activists, firing a gun in the same area shortly after the first shot.
Troopers have now confirmed this to be a separate person and believe that person belonged to the group that opposed the group that included the first shooter.
In footage released by state troopers, the person dressed in black with a facemask and backpack appears to walk across a parking lot before firing a handgun. It is unclear if anyone was hit.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Sgt. Matt Wood at sistips@wsp.wa.gov or 360-704-2955.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Troopers ask public to help identify second shooter at Capitol Campus confrontation."
