A fight on the dance floor spilled into the streets of Capitol Hill and ended in gunfire early Friday morning, according to police.
According to the report on the 1 AM incident, a man who had been kicked out of E Olive Way’s the Social pulled out a gun and fired off multiple shots following a fight that began inside the club. Witnesses said the man shot into the air and then aimed at a person outside the club and fired multiple times. No one was hit but the club’s front door was shattered.
A 27-year-old man was arrested after a nearby traffic stop. Additional details from our original post and SPD’s preliminary report are below.
Original Post: The sound of gunshots and screams were reported early Friday morning in a shooting incident below Broadway. No gunshot victim has been located at this time.
Police and medics responded to one victim in the 1500 block of E Olive Way just after 1 AM Friday but it was not immediately clear what injuries the person had sustained.
A car leaving the area was stopped near Harvard and E Thomas and its occupants detained.
The assault with weapons medical call was quickly cleared and the victim was able to assist SPD in identifying the assailant from the car.
Police continued to search the area for people on foot also believed to have been involved in the incident.
This is a breaking story and will be updated as we learn more. All information is preliminary and has not yet been confirmed with Seattle Police or Seattle Fire.
Shattered door of the Social
UPDATE: No official report from SPD on this yet but dispatch records indicate the incident was being investigated as a drive-by incident with no injuries and gang units were deployed. A CHS reader has provided pictures from the scene and tells us the incident unfolded in front of the Social nightclub before the arrest a short ways away on Harvard.
UPDATE: Here’s the preliminary report from SPD —
Police responded to an early morning report of a disturbance and shots fired outside a club in the 1700 Block of East Olive Way. Just before 1:00 am, East Precinct officers responded to the call of a disturbance involving several people that had begun inside the club on the dance floor and then continued out on the street after security attempted to escort them outside. Club security had just escorted two people outside and then went back in to deal with another disturbance. Several witnesses reported seeing one of the first men kicked out walk away from the club, only to return immediately with a gun in his hand. The suspect raised the gun in the air and, according to witnesses, fired at least one shot in the air. Witnesses told police that the suspect then pointed the gun at another patron standing in front of the club and fire several shots. There were no injuries as a result, althought the front door of the club was shattered. Witnesses stated that the suspect then walked away and got into a gold SUV and drive away.
As officers were responding to the call, they saw a gold 2001 GMC Yukon leaving the area and conducted a high risk traffic stop on the vehicle. Witnesses positively identified the man driving as the same suspect who had fired the gun. The suspect was taken into custody without incident. The 27-year-old suspect was taken to the East Precinct where he later taken to Harborview Medical Center after complaining about a medical issue. Once the suspect is discharged from the hospital, it is expected he will be booked into the King County Jail on a number of charges. The Yukon was also impounded pending a search warrant. Gang Unit detectives are handling the follow up investigation.
UPDATE: Seattle Fire explains their deployment:
At 1:01 a.m. a male called dispatch and said he had been shot outside of a building in the 1500 block of East Olive Way. SPD arrived first and it looks like we were on scene for just 8 minutes. We did not transport.
UPDATE: A witness says the Social’s door was punched out — not shot out — before the shots were fired.
Heard a man and a woman fighting loudly below my apartment at Denny and Boylston after what sounded like shots. Started hearing sirens and then they quickly stopped screaming at each other and split up running in different directions. The man ran south towards Pike/Pine. Didn’t see where the woman went. Hope nobody got seriously hurt.
I just saw the arrest. Multiple cops just pulled over the suspect with semi-automatic weapons and cleared the area. I was walking down the street at the time and they told me to clear the area. There was one man in the car and he immediately surrendered. The cops handled it well.
it says no victim, then says they found a victim- am i reading it wrong?
No gunshot wound victim but a person SPD identified as a victim in the incident. We’ll know more when SPD releases report info.
These people need to take their gun totting ghetto asses back to Federal Way where they belong!
Crowd has recently changed at the used to be Social. (I heard there was a name change?) And now, the violence follows.
Sad.
The Hill does not need this shit.
I couldn’t agree more. Now The Social is on notice that their shitty club is attracting a certain and distinct clientele of gangbangers. The place is barely scraping by…what’s next “Methhead Mondays?”
Nice job SPD for quickly and efficiently arresting the shooter.
This saddens me to read! It is unfortunate that because of new clientele The Social which may have had a name change is going down the path of Sugar. I always want businesses to succeed however if this is what happened than I think for the safety of my neighborhood the business should close!
Points taken. Enough. These comments have very quickly found the line. Find another direction. We’re actively moderating this thread.
I live in the building next to the Social. Ever since this club has opened it has changed the neighborhood in a negative way. Now this event happens and it has me very concerned. The last thing I want is gang bangers hanging out near our area. I will be rooting for the Social to close down. Please go out of business!
Agree! Shut this place down before someone gets killed!
Yes – the Social owners were straight group of gals/guys who tried to make a go of a gay bar to compete with Neighbors but after a ton of small financial/managerial disasters (see Yelp reviews), it tanked and they were a few $10-grand in the hole. So, of course they reinvented themselves, kicked out us gays (about 2 weeks ago) and voila – got the club you see today. While it’s the fault of certain individuals who can’t seem to “play nice” without gun play – some blame should be put on the Social for not having adequate security.
It should be pointed out that the original partners on The Social/Evo were not all “straight” but included gay partners as well.
I avoid Belltown because of this type of activity and now it’s on our beloved hill? The trouble at Sugar never ended till it closed, hopefully this club shut soon.
The standard business model for new dance clubs on Capitol Hill seems to be:
1) Open up with much higher entry and drink prices compared to other dance clubs on the hill.
2) Start losing money because you cannot compete with established players.
3) change format to appeal to the Belltown Bro crowd.
4) Endure fights and eventually gunshots.
5) Go out of business.
I had high hopes for this club and had hoped that it would help the nightlife on Olive Way. Synergy is what I had hoped for, Seattle’s “Gay” options are getting smaller every day as we are assimilated into the straight world. At least as a gay club, the drama was limited to a drink thrown or a face slapped. Now we have gunfire in what was once a quiet neighborhood. What about the safety of the patrons of the nearby businesses and the perception that E. Olive Way has now become a dangerous area on the hill. Please don’t let this club ruin the neighborhood and drive down the property values or drive the people away from the good venues like Tommy Gun and CC’s that don’t have these issues or the dance floor drama.
Please jseattle, remove deliberately racist comments from threads; Re: Go Back to Federal Way. Referring to african americans as “uppity[fill in the blank]” is classic hate mongering and reflects poorly on this awesome blog.
I’m not familiar with the place. What has it changed into to attract gangbangers?
I hear you. I’ve removed the comment.
The fact that they gave up trying to be a gay bar.
Really? Calling for a place of business to shut down after ONE instance where a gun/shooting was involved? No one was even hurt! Wasn’t there a shooting/killing at Chop Suey a few years ago? I don’t recall people calling for that place to shut down.
It sucks to say it, but it’s the elephant in the living room– it seems in popular straight bars, they just can’t play nice. You never see this shit in a gay bar. The worst you get is 2 queens pulling each other’s hair or tossing cocktails, or 2 lesbians breaking pool cues. This is as good an arguement as you can point to for why clubs on CapHill should stay gay. Even gay bars that let in lots of gay-friendly straight people never have this shit.
Last night was the culmination of a nightly pattern of people screaming, fighting, behaving like drunks that has been the norm ever since the “Social” opened. My bedroom window is facing this shit hole of a club and I haven’t had a decent nights sleep since these A-holes opened their doors. If it isn’t guns-it’s illegal fircrackers being set off between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m.. I wish this place would
go bust and close their doors forever. Get out of my neighborhood please !!!!!
I love sarcasm as much as the next person dude, but that kind of “sarcasm” is only funny to white people.
Full disclosure: I’m a white person.
@jseattle – thanks! :)
Hi Eric,
Just so you’re aware, using phrases like “gun totting ghetto asses” and telling people to “go back to where they belong” still marks you as a terrible racist, despite trying to use dog-whistle terms to the same effect.
Hope this helps.
What a dumbass.
Probably because Chop Suey had been open for awhile and was better managed. And, there WAS a lot of outrage when that incident happened. The Social is following the exact same path as Sugar and that naturally worries people.
Totally, agree. I live across the street from the club. The club crowds are much louder than clients of any other clubs/bars in the neighborhood. CC has been trying to be a good neighbor and ask their patrons to be quiet or not to smoke around the office across the street. BUT not Social. Ever since they opened their business, they have been ridiculously loud (especially, karaoke night) and clients usually hang out screaming and laughing in the area even after midnight or 1 am. And now, gun shooting. GREAT. You are very loved.
I live near the Social and have watched the decline of the E Olive Way area as a result. I want to make it clear that CC’s and Tommy Gun have been respectful, and great additions to the neighborhood. I have absolutely no problem with them. The social however has shown a lack of community respect. Going so far as to refuse meeting with local residents to discuss issues we may have.
I’m hoping we will be rid of you in short order.
I agree. I live a block away and hear the 3 or 4 nights a week. I had such high hopes for this club and now it is ruining the neighborhood.
And to the person that said this
“Really? Calling for a place of business to shut down after ONE instance where a gun/shooting was involved? No one was even hurt! Wasn’t there a shooting/killing at Chop Suey a few years ago? I don’t recall people calling for that place to shut down.”
no club should have a shooting or guns in it and the social is lucky no one was killed. how can this be considered commonplace? do you live next door? I guarantee you within a few month I will not be leaving near here.
If you haven’t already, start calling the cops. You are entitled to peaceful nights in your home. Call the cops.
Seriously?! You need more than one shooting and/or someone to get hurt to think a place needs to shut down? What happens next time when someone *does* get hurt? Then you’ll be here posting, “Why didn’t this place get shut down the first time there was a shooting?”
No establishment should EVER be able to say, “… the first time we had a shooting…”
I cannot say this enough. If people are acting a fool outside a club, then call the cops. It’s fun and it’s empowering. Create a record. Call the cops.
This club has been nothing but a nuisance to our block since it opened. The sidewalk in front of this place is a mess with garbage and cigarette butts every morning when I walk by on my way to work. During the evenings their patrons block the sidewalk and smoke right in front of the windows of the neighboring building. This club, unlike any of the other clubs on Olive, has never given a rats ass about the neighborhood. CC’s, Tommy Gun, the former Elite and many other bars down this stretch keep their storefronts nice and clean and their patrons who are outside smoking in line and respectful of the neighbors. The Social needs to just go away already and let a responsible business owner take that space over. PLEASE!
This white person considers that type of “sacrasm” racist, ignorant and absolutely unamusing.
WTF? I’d love to live in your world where violence doesn’t occur. The bar threw the guy out, he went back to his car to get his gun and came back. So it’s the establishment’s responsibility to do a background check on every patron and do a search of their cars for concealed weapons? Really?
I like this tidbit from a Yelp reviewer who called the cops on a drunk who was throwing things at other patrons: “The owner then texts me that I am banned for calling the police and reporting a battery at The Social. The owner came and talked to me stating, ‘Even if you are bleeding from an attack, if you contact the police you will be banned.'”
Sounds like a real asset to the community.
THE SOCIAL has got to go!!
Shame on the owners from bringing this unwanted Belltown-esque trash club to our neighborhood. Trash only attracts more trash. Please leave.
As a fellow tenant of the building next door to the Social, I can only underline your comment. Contrary to their statement – and unlike the other bars and clubs in the area – the people running the Social have not made the slightest attempt to be good neighbors, instead opting to not give a shit.
I couldn’t care less if the Social is run by / aimed at straight or gay people, blacks or whites or a bunch of earthworms, what matters is that it has gone from bad to worse in terms of noise, dirt and, apparently, safety in the last few weeks, making it basically unbearable. Let’s just hope this latest incident will mark the beginning of the end for this sad place.
Yes! If there isn’t a police report it DIDN’T happen. Call the cops. Keep calling the cops. The more 911 calls from a club the easier it is for the Mayor and City Attorney to declare it a nuisance and shut it down! Social needs to go. They’ve been a terrible neighbor from the get go! We need more businesses like Tommy Gunn and CC’s, who take an active role in the neighborhood and are respectful of the fact that they live in a dense residential area. Social has never been respectful of that fact. Ever. They’ve been hostile toward it actually.
Witnesses told officers that the gunman walked away, got into a gold SUV and drove away.
Police said officers responding to another call saw a gold 2001 GMC Yukon leaving the area.
Police pulled over the driver and witnesses identified him as the same man who had fired the gun outside the club.
The 27-year-old man was arrested and booked into the King County Jail.
The man’s SUV was impounded pending a search warrant.
Gang unit detectives are handling the follow-up investigation
————————-
The above was taken from the KIRO website. So it’s gang related? Is there a reason this article omitted that?
It’s racist to suggest that people coming in from Federal Way are disproportinately a source of problems but it is okay to say the same thing about “Belltown types”, “U district frat boys” or “georgetown hipsters”? What about if I complain about people from Upper Queen Anne? Is that racist? Give me a break.
Please share your comments with:
REDDY, BILL — City of Seattle Nightlife Coordinator
Phone: 206-615-0952
Fax: 206-684-5170
E-mail:bill.reddy@seattle.gov
Of course call 911 or the police non-emergency number (which, technically, in a non-emergency you should be calling, such as noise complaints, press 2, then 8. Always helpful to record the operator number. Even better if you speak with the officer). Non-emergency number is 206.625.5011. It’s on your phone, right?
Let Council know: http://www.seattle.gov/council/councilcontact.htm
Let the Mayor know: http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/citizen_response.htm
Let the Washington Liquor Control Board know: http://www.liq.wa.gov/contact
Yeah, it takes some effort. But these people work for us and we need to let them know that we need them to solve these problems. It has always been amazingly irresponsible on the part of the property owners and the business owners, in my opinion, for opening a club in the middle of seven residential buildings.
It’s bad enough with the loud, drunk smokers, and associated operatics that occur along Olive Way from CC’s and Tommy Gun but add to the crowds and clientele of The Social to the mix you have a potent combination for neighborhood decline. It definitely isn’t the neighborhood it was when I moved in six years ago and, quite frankly, I can’t wait until I can get out.
Mentioned 2x above
ive never been to the social so i cant comment on what they do right or wrong regarding security concerns. but if you want to see a security detail that does pretty much everything right then all you need to do is go to q on broadway.
i was there 2 weeks ago and they had four of the most incredibly firendly professionals in front of the club and by my count close to a dozen more inside. theyre extrmemly present and visible without being in your face or thuggish (like rplace and neighbours) and they make you feel welcome and safe but you also know that if you act up theyre gonna ruin your day.
I live right around the corner from Julia’s, I also work late and frequently walk home from downtown. These two things have given me a pretty good perspective on club noise, cleanliness, and patrons behavior and the Social has pretty much been a blight on my neighborhood from the minute it opened. Every night I would have to walk in the street because of this large mass of frat boys and barbies completely blocking the sidewalk in a cacophony of shrill noise and cigarette smoke. Then every morning I would have to walk by a sidewalk littered with cigarette butts, beer bottles, and other miscellaneous trash. As the weeks have gone by things have not gotten any better and there have been times where I’ve actually been harassed by the patrons outside!
I have to compare this to CC’s just a half block down the road that no matter how busy they are that it is never unreasonably loud, its patrons are always courteous making sure to step out of my way if they’re blocking the sidewalk and actually acknowledging me as a fellow human along the way. The next morning as I walk to work the sidewalks are spotless. This is the way a good neighbor behaves.
The Social has never shown any interest in policing its clientele outside, keeping its sidewalks clear for pedestrians and clean, or moderating the extreme level of noise pollution produced by its customers. Now there has been a shooting and while yes it was the first I’m afraid it WON’T be the last. I hate to wish misfortune upon anyone but I will not shed a tear when the Social closes and it can’t happen soon enough!
Word. This isn’t about people complaining about clubs. This is about complaining about poorly run clubs.
If you are willing to go on the record regarding your complaints about the Social, please contact us at [email protected] or call/txt (206) 399-5959. We’ll also be contacting some of the commenters to see if they are willing to speak publicly on the complaints they have voiced here. If you have called police regarding activity at the club, please provide us with a date and time.
Why remove the deliberately sarcastic and over the top remark but not the original, but more subtle, remark?
The statement from Laura Olson (CEO of Social) is just pure spin, a feeble attempt to keep any business they have left. If this had been an isolated incident at an otherwise well-run and considerate club, her statement might have some credibility, but this is obviously not the case. The Social must close, the sooner the better.
I would prefer the gunslinger to be put away for a very long time, if not forever, but unfortunately he will probably get away with a slap on the wrist.
Hello CHS.. I just sent you a detailed email. Please give me a call or respond to the email. Thank you…
Went to Q for the first time last night and I couldn’t agree more with this post.
Agreed! That has to be the lamest statement I’ve ever seen and so far from the truth.
So, it took me a while through the comments to even realize to which club this was referring. I never knew the name of the club at that location, didn’t know it was called the social. I don’t go out much, and I don’t live in the neighborhood, but when I do go out I go to CC’s most of the time. I go to SCCC, and I am in the neighborhood a lot, I have many friends in the neighborhood. I am always annoyed when I walk by what I have now learned is called “The Social” because of the loud, drunken fools hanging outside. It really is gross.
I can’t agree more. As a patron of CC’s I can say that most of the people who frequent it ensure that they smoke where the owners wish them to, stay relatively quiet while outside (especially at night), and are courteous and friendly to those walking past. This is a combination of the friendliness of the owner and staff, as well as a concerted effort by everyone who frequents CC’s to consider others. Every time I have walked past The Social I have been disgusted by the rambunctiousness of the crowd. In addition, there have been times when I have had to walk in the street to get past the patrons of The Social.
As I stated in an earlier comment, I care so little for that place I never bothered to learn its name until this article. It just disgusts me.
I agree with Jason. Where do you draw the line? Once someone decides it’s ok to pull out a gun and start wildly shooting at the sky and other people, fact is, we’re going to try and understand where this lunatic came from. It’s how we understand and make sense of our city. Unfortunately, although the comments certainly are racist, the fact is, there’s likely a measure of truth to them. It’s not racist to understand that some generalizations are true – meth-heads, arsonists and serial killers are generally white dudes, and club-hopping, gun-toting, trigger happy, check-how-low-my-baggy-jeans-hang-below-my-butt-without-causing-me-to-trip-and-if-you-say-anything-I’ll-kill-you dudes are, more often than not, black. Deal with it. Recognize it. Don’t pretend you’re holier than thou because you don’t use ‘racial epithets’. You probably decided NOT to live in particular neighborhoods due to the general make-up of their residents. I highly doubt your babysitter gets his or her wardrobe from Gangbangers ‘R’ Us. Hypocrite.
So, how many shootings are you comfortable with before suggesting a venue or club be closed down?
Notice how there isn’t one “we are sorry” in their statement? Wow. Just wow. Also nice how they basically say they refuse to discriminate, as if that isn’t the law already? Thanks.
This is the infamous Pardo/Olson ownership team. After littering the city with foreclosed land due to the Pb collapse, they decided to open a number of crappy businesses on the hill. Dig a little deeper and you will find a lot of dirt in how he did this…
You can tell from their other businesses they don’t really care. Every time I’ve been in PoDog it’s been a filthy mess. I’m not sure how that place ever passes a health inspection.
A comment of reality from “Capitol Hill Resident”…thank you!
There is almost always a knee-jerk reaction of “political correctness” and “racist!” when there is even a hint of criticism of someone from a certain racial group, even if the criticism has some truth to it. We are so fearful of talking about racial issues….they are truly the “elephant in the room.”
Has nothing to do with the number of shootings that need to occur before a place should close down. Should Cafe Racer or that coffee shop in tacoma where those cops were killed shut down because of those shootings?
The shooting is an example, not the reason this place should shut down.
Looks like this guy was right. Kevlar sounds like required attire for a night out at the social http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-social-seattle#hrid:3FqGYt34LdFDJppBbLIp9g