PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man was taken into custody Saturday afternoon after he allegedly brandished a loaded gun in the 48 Degrees North restaurant attached to the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles.
No one was hurt during the incident.
Thomas Lawrence Gosser, 47, was jailed for investigation of unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon and unlawful carrying of a weapon capable of bodily harm.
He was released from the Clallam County jail on Sunday morning after posting $10,000 bond.
Gosser had been sitting at a table in the restaurant for a while when he allegedly removed a handgun from where he was carrying it and “very visibly placed a magazine in it” and “displayed the gun in an unlawful manner” at about 4:10 p.m., said Chief Brian Smith of the Port Angeles Police Department.
Gosser’s name had not appeared on the jail roster as of 5:30 p.m., but Smith said he expected that the man would be investigated for at least brandishing a weapon.
Restaurant employees evacuated customers and called 9-1-1, Smith said. Officers arrived about a minute later “to a little bit of a chaotic scene,” blocked off Lincoln Street at Railroad Avenue and Front Street and evacuated the immediate area outside the restaurant while finishing getting people out of the restaurant.
Officers did not need to evacuate the hotel, Smith said.
“It’s notable pointing out that their employees did a phenomenal job in getting their patrons out … they did some amazing work,” Smith said.
Gosser was taken into custody without incident.
Assisting the Port Angeles police were the Lower Elwha police, National Park Service officers and the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
