(KRON) — A San Francisco man and dispensary proprietor who was shot seven instances in an unprovoked assault exterior his store final month reunited with the lady who helped save his life as he lay bleeding on the sidewalk.
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Moments earlier than the Jan. 27 taking pictures, Martin Olive mentioned he was exterior his Vapor Room Dispensary at Ninth and Mission streets within the metropolis’s SoMa (South of Market) neighborhood, taking a smoke break and taking a look at his cellphone. That’s when a person approached on an e-bike, walked towards him holding a gun, and opened fireplace.
The San Francisco Police Division mentioned officers had been dispatched to the scene simply earlier than 5 p.m. Olive mentioned his attacker even shot him twice within the again whereas he was mendacity on the sidewalk. He was additionally shot within the face, arm, and shoulder.
The shooter then walked to his condominium, which is in the identical constructing as Olive’s dispensary. Police later recognized him as 34-year-old Cheasarak Chong. He was later killed in a shootout with officers. San Francisco PD launched surveillance and physique digicam footage of the taking pictures on Feb. 5.
“It’s fantastic I’m not dead,” Olive informed KRON4 Information in an interview on Feb. 10. “I did not want to die on 9th Street in the middle of the afternoon. There are definitely nicer places to die in the city. I was genuinely convinced that this was it. I kept closing my eyes and feeling so unbelievably tired, and it felt like giving up and escaping from the pain was sort of my only option. It was relentless, searing pain throughout my entire body.”
Martin Olive. (Photograph Credit score: KRON4 Information)
No clear motive has been discovered for the assault. Olive mentioned he didn’t know the shooter.
Whereas he’s up and strolling, he nonetheless faces lingering well being points.
In an Instagram submit on Feb. 12, Olive made a public plea on Instagram to discover a lady who had come to his help the day of the taking pictures. He referred to as her the “first of many angels to save my life that day.”
“Social Media! I need your help,” Olive wrote. “Within seconds of being shot multiple times 2 weeks ago, a woman happened to be walking by, came to my aid. She was a nurse. She literally took the shirt off her back to administer compresses to my bullet wounds. She reassured me, kept my eyes open, and told me she heard the ambulance on its way. She was the first of many angels to save my life that day, and I would like to thank her for her kindness. Does anyone know anyone who knows her?”
Two weeks later, on Feb. 25, Olive shared a submit on Instagram of an emotional reunion with the lady, named Carissa.
As we speak was an excellent day. I used to be in a position to meet Carissa, the nurse who first discovered me bleeding out on the road, coincidentally one month in the past at present. We had ice cream, sat collectively, talked about what occurred, and acknowledged how this shared second created a really distinctive lifelong bond between us. It was an emotionally charged expertise to listen to how she noticed me on the sidewalk, jumped out of her automobile, and rushed to maintain me whereas different bystanders simply stared at me.
It was a uncommon honor to have the ability to meet and thank the one who fairly actually and with out exaggeration, saved my life. I used to be rapidly dropping consciousness till her calm presence and compassionate voice introduced me again to actuality; regardless of it being an unbelievably painful actuality. Listening to her level out the sirens of the ambulance, telling me to maintain my eyes open, to breathe, and that I wasn’t going to die, whereas she utilized strain to my bleeding wounds was sufficient to maintain me going only a bit longer. Plenty of fantastic folks saved me that day. Carissa was the primary of them. I’m eternally grateful to her. I hope to see her once more quickly.
— Martin Olive
Feedback on the submit ranged from, “Amazing that you found her. What a hero,” to “What a blessing. To you for surviving and to her for saving your life.”
The way forward for Olive’s Vapor Room Dispensary, which has been round for greater than 20 years, stays unsure. A message on its web site reads, “Vapor Room is currently closed while we regroup after a recent tragedy. We thank all our loyal customers for their years of support. Options for reopening are currently being pursued, and we hope to serve the cannabis community again soon.”
A GoFundMe has been organized to assist Olive.
