San Francisco's Vapor Room decides to close for foreseeable future

Vapor Room owners shooting leaves unanswered questions

The co-owner of San Francisco weed dispensary, The Vapor Room, survived being shot six times at point blank by a gunman who was killed in a standoff with police this week. Questions remain about the motive of the gunman and how to prevent something like this from happening again.

SAN FRANCISCO - Popular San Francisco cannabis dispensary the Vapor Room announced on social media that they have decided to shut their doors for the foreseeable future.

This comes after the business's co-owner and founder, Martin Olive, was shot seven times point-blank last month just outside his 9th Street SoMa dispensary and survived to tell the story. The attack was unprovoked.

In a Friday night social media post, the owners of the 23-year-old dispensary said they came to this decision not only because of the shooting, but because of the, "state of the small business retail cannabis industry as a whole."

In our previous coverage, the dispensary's closure was described as temporary, so that Olive, 47, could focus on his recovery.

The business owners said they regretted the decision and the "difficult fact that we can't continue to provide loving and compassionate service to our customers while Martin [Olive] navigates his recovery from a brutal, random shooting."

The post continues to say Olive is grateful to be alive and that they are all rooting for his recovery.

"It's hard to believe after all this time, that we're closing. We hope it's not for too long. We'll keep you updated on here. Stay high," the post concluded.

The backstory:

Olive was on a break outside the dispensary when he was approached by a man who had just parked an e-bike. Olive's business partner told KTVU that the suspect, identified as 35-year-old Cheasarack Chong, opened fire without saying a word. Surveillance footage captured the shooting. Chong is seen getting off his bike, pistol in hand before firing multiple shots at Olive.

After the shooting, Chong ran to his apartment building next door. The shooter was killed in a shootout with police hours later. Investigators recovered multiple firearms from Chong's apartment.

Officials said the crime was not a robbery. Miraculously, the shots fired missed all of Olive's vital organs.

Chong and Olive had no known prior interactions and he was not a customer at the dispensary. Chong was reported missing by his family in 2017, who at the time said he suffered from mental health issues. In 2018, Chong was acquitted of attempted murder.

A Gofundme for Olive continues to raise money for his medical expenses.

After the shooting, Olive gave KTVU an interview as he recovered. He said he remembered the gun going off repeatedly and shots grazing his face, ear and his back.

He thanked first responders and those who have provided him medical care. He also suffers PTSD from the attack.