UNCATEGORIZED

One man, one phone call, and one less violent arcade game

Jan 29, 2013, 9:56 AM | Updated: 10:51 am

Just days after the Aurora shooting claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 58 others, "here stand two little kids with rifles in their hands shooting at this game." (AP Photo/File)

(AP Photo/File)

It only took one phone call to make a difference.

A man in Yonkers, New York didn’t have a good feeling when just after the Aurora, Colo. shooting he walked into his local mega-chain movieplex and saw the arcade game “Buck Hunter” on prominent display and in use by kids.

“You can’t help but see it.” Richard Reitnauer told KIRO Radio’s Andrew Walsh Show that it’s where your eyes travel as soon as you walk in the brand new movie complex near his home.

Just days after the Aurora shooting claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 58 others, “here stand two little kids with rifles in their hands shooting at this game.”

It wouldn’t be the last time Reitnauer walked through the lobby of this movie theater to see young kids shooting the pretend rifles at the game. Every time he walked passed he would mumble to his partner how inappropriate it seemed.

Finally, after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School – just an hour away from Yonkers – he decided enough was enough.

He told his partner he’d write a letter to the editor of the local paper about his frustration about the gun-aimed game in the movie theater.

But, it wouldn’t be fair to go on the attack without reaching out to the theater first.

“I called, and got right through,” Reitnauer said. He figured he’d be disappointed with the result of his conversation. Instead, he was surprised. The man said he’d get back to him about the request, but since it was few days before Christmas it might take some time.

The wait was worth it – when he got the call back from the man, they had already pulled “Buck Hunter” from the movie theater.

Now that movie theater chain has plans to meet with their video game vendor and examine if the game should be taken out or left in other theaters – on a case by case basis.

“I wanted to take one step and be an example.”

It turns out sometimes one phone call is all you need when you want to get something done.

Uncategorized

kent trooper shot...

Kate Stone

Man faces multiple charges after WSP trooper shooting in Kent

A man accused of shooting a Washington State Patrol trooper multiple times in Kent last Friday has been charged.

1 month ago

Oregon Emergency Landing - (Elizabeth Le via AP)...

KIRO 7 News Staff

‘Everyone was eerily calm,’ recalls passenger aboard ill-fated Alaska Airlines flight

Terror in the skies: A Vancouver, Washington, woman shares the harrowing moments after an airplane blowout over Portland.

3 months ago

Photo: SPD vehicle...

KIRO 7 News Staff

Two men shot at bus stop in North Seattle near Northgate

Two men were shot at a bus stop along Aurora Avenue Wednesday, according to the Seattle Police Department.

5 months ago

Manuel Ellis arrest, Tacoma police officers...

Associated Press

Prosecutors focus on video evidence in trial of Washington officers charged in Manny Ellis’ death

A cellphone video of the 2020 fatal arrest of Manny Ellis shows the Black man on the ground with his hands in the air in surrender

6 months ago

...

No Author

EXPIRED: Win tickets to see Stokley at EQC!

KIRO Newsradio is giving you a chance to win two tickets to see Stokley at the Emerald Queen Casino on Saturday, November 11, 2023!

6 months ago

(File photo)...

L.B. Gilbert

NLRB files complaint against Amazon for unlawful confidentiality agreement

A new complaint from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB ) is accusing Amazon of requiring some corporate employees to sign an unlawful confidentiality agreement. The complaint states Amazon had required a former employee from its drone project, Amazon Prime Air, to sign an agreement that forbade discussion of information regarding Amazon, whether or not […]

7 months ago

One man, one phone call, and one less violent arcade game