Court dates coming for men charged after furniture store shooting

Two men may face a judge next week while charged in an apparent dispute that escalated into a shooting inside a furniture store in Springettsbury Township.

Michael Whitt and Kirk Olivier are each accused of attacking each other over at least two days in February. In the most violent incident, police alleged Olivier, 20, opened fire and shot Whitt inside Price Busters Discount Furniture, 1900 Industrial Highway, on Feb. 24.

The night before, Olivier was shopping at the Smoke and Chill, 100 E. Princess St. in York City, when Whitt walked into the store. He spotted Olivier, walked up to him and slapped his face hard enough to knock him back, police said in charging documents.

Olivier scrambled to the back of the store. Whitt followed him and pulled a handgun from the waistband of his pants. Olivier escaped, and Whitt tucked the gun back in his pants and left, according to the charging documents.

The situation at Price Busters developed when Whitt walked into the store while Olivier was already inside. When Olivier saw him, investigators said he pulled a gun this time and started shooting.

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Both men then fled the area.

Investigators found the 23-year-old Whitt a short time later at a local hospital while he was undergoing treatment for multiple gunshot wounds, according to charging documents.

Police also noted Whitt wasn’t seen with a gun during the furniture store incident.

Olivier, of Columbia, Lancaster County, was charged with felony counts of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. Whitt, of York City, faces misdemeanor counts of simple assault and illegal possession of a firearm related to the incident at Smoke and Chill.

Both men already went through preliminary arraignments before a district court judge. They now have preliminary hearings scheduled March 16 in Judge Barry Bloss Jr.’s court in Springettsbury Township, court documents show.

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The hearings are separate and set for different times in the day.

Olivier and Whitt are each free on $100,000 unsecured bails, court documents show.

— Reach Aimee Ambrose at aambrose@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @aimee_TYD.