Shocking surveillance footage caught the moment a business owner was shot seven times in a random attack in crime-riddled San Francisco.
Martin Olive, 47, could be seen in the footage taking a smoke break outside of the cannabis dispensary he owns at the intersection of Ninth and Mission Streets, innocently scrolling through his phone on January 27, when a man pulls his e-bike to the curb and dismounts.
The e-biker – who has since been identified as 34-year-old Cheasarak Chong – could then be seen casually approaching Olive.
But within seconds, Chong pulls out a gun from his pants pocket, grips it with both hands and fires multiple rounds.
Olive immediately dropped his phone, covers his head and falls to the ground.
As he lies on his back on the sidewalk, Chong fires once more at his head, before he walked into the building next door, where police later tracked him to a sixth-floor apartment, according to the San Francisco Standard.
Olive was left with gunshot wounds to his back, chest and cheek, and was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, the San Francisco Chronicle reported at the time.
Meanwhile, police were left in a shoot-out with Chong, who was killed inside his apartment.
Martin Olive, 47, was shot seven times in a random attack in crime-riddled San Francisco
He was taking a smoke break on January 27 when a suspect approached him and pointed a gun at him
More than a week later, Olive is back home as he continues to recover from the near-death experience – which he said has also left him with psychological scars.
He told the Standard that when he first saw Chong approach him and point a pistol at his face, he assumed it was a water gun.
‘I thought it was the beginning of a stupid TikTok prank,’ said Olive, who owns the Vapor Room.
‘I couldn’t conceive of why anyone would want to shoot me.’
But after the first bullet struck him, Olive said he wanted to run.
He was keenly aware, however, that he was not actually moving.
‘It felt like I got a ball of hot metal shoved into my cheek,’ he recounted of the experience. ‘It just was so hot and I just wanted to get away from the pain.
‘I think metaphysically, my soul was running way from my body. I was in another world.’
The suspect was later identified as 34-year-old Cheasarak Chong, who was killed in a shootout with police
Olive was then left screaming in pain on the ground asking ‘Why me?’ as one of his employees called 911 and good Samaritans rushed to his aid to try to stop the bleeding.
He said he tried to remain as still as possible in an effort to keep the bullets from moving and avoid further injury.
But when paramedics arrived on the scene and took off his clothes, they were drenched in blood.
‘I kept thinking to myself, “I can’t believe I’m gonna die on Ninth Street,” like, “Holy s***, I’m dying on Ninth Street,’ Olive recounted, explaining that there are nicer parts of the city for someone to take their last breath.
A tactical unit and hostage negotiation team were later deployed to the apartment and surrounding area
The officers were able to make contact with Chong, who then barricaded the door to his apartment
A tactical unit and hostage negotiation team were later deployed to the apartment and surrounding area, KQED reports.
The officers were able to make contact with Chong, who then barricaded the door to his apartment.
Police ordered Chong to leave the apartment, but he reportedly refused and told the officers to leave.
At that point, members of the tactical team fired two foam projectiles into a window to gain a better visual.
Body camera footage showed the suspect then opened fire through his window with a rifle at the officers stationed on the roof across the building, according to KTVU.
‘Did he shoot?’ one officer could be heard asking.
‘Yeah. Shots fired,’ another replies.
Tactical Officer David Edgerson then returned fire with his own rifle, and when he did not respond, officers deployed a drone to his apartment – which recorded him unresponsive on the kitchen floor.
Officers then entered the apartment along with a paramedic, and Chong was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police recovered a cache of weapons from Chong’s apartment
Among them were semiautomatic firearms and ammunition
In the aftermath, police recovered several weapons from his home, including semiautomatic firearms and ammunition.
All of the weapons were obtained legally, Olive’s attorney, Patrick Goggin, told the Standard.
The news left Olive even more frustrated, noting that Chong had previously faced charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon after stabbing a man.
The public defender’s office, which represented Chong at trial, argued he acted in self-defense, and Chong was acquitted in the case.
A man who identified himself as Tee Chong and claimed to be his brother told the Standard his brother dealt with mental health issues for years.
He said that even though they had lost contact with Chong more than eight years ago, the family thought he was doing well and the city ‘took care of him’ after the 2018 trial.
‘All he wanted was a better life and to free himself,’ Tee claimed.
‘I’m saddened that SFPD didn’t let us talk him out of it and… get him help.’
Olive says he is now seeking treatment for PTSD following the attack
But Olive said he believes Chong was given an ill-advised second chance.
‘I’m a liberal person. I believe in social services. I believe in helping the people that need help,’ he said.
‘I believe in everyone’s right to live and breathe free, but that includes my right to live and breathe free – and this person clearly tried to stop my right to live and breathe free.’
He also said that before he learned Chong had died, he worried that police in the liberal city would let him go free.
‘Garnering any sympathy for him [because of his mental health issues] is very insulting and disrespectful to people that have mental health issues and don’t commit violence,’ Olive said, noting he has previously struggled with depression.
He said he is now holding up well in the daytime, but at night he becomes much more emotional.
‘I cry a lot,’ Olive said, adding that he is now seeking treatment for PTSD.
‘I get nightmares. I get flashbacks. The scene sort of expands with cinema vision around it all.’
He also said that following the shooting, he is temporarily closing the Vapor Room, which opened in 2004 but has been experiencing financial troubles in recent months.
‘I need to regroup,’ Olive said, noting he wants to ‘reopen bigger, better, stronger and more awesome with the help of the community.’
