An Orlando amusement park where a teenager fell from a ride to his death earlier this year has temporarily closed a sniper-like laser shooting game in the wake of recent mass shootings.
ICON Park's "Bullseye Blast" game let people shoot a laser blaster at various rooftop targets while riding a 400-foot tall observation wheel.
Park officials say some guests had complained the game was inappropriate after recent mass shootings at the July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and the grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
"The Bullseye Blast game satisfied guests who enjoy gaming, arcades and virtual reality. From capsules, guests use a toy infrared device to compete and hit round, colorful targets on rooftops," park officials said in a statement to WKMG. "Some non-guests and community members expressed that they considered the toy shooting device used to be insensitive."
The statement went on to say the park would work on redesigning the game in a way that would "not offend anyone in the community."
"The attractions industry has many similar games which use similar shooting devices, so that is what we were limited to when exploring the game. However, we believe that a device can and should be designed which does not offend anyone in the community. We look forward to leading this new innovation," officials said. "We will pursue a new design that will deliver the same level of customized fun for guests, in a way that the entire community can embrace."
Bullseye Blast was introduced at the park about a month ago, WRBW reported. The park has since removed any mention of the game from its website. The listing previously read: "As their air-conditioned capsule ascends above Orlando, players scan the rooftops of ICON Park to find 50 strategically pre-selected targets with varying degrees of difficulty. To get the highest score possible, players need to hit as many of these as possible with their laser blaster during the 18-minute ride."
ICON Park was the site of a death earlier this year when a teenager who exceeded the weight limit by nearly 100 pounds fell from a 430-foot Free Fall tower.
Tyre Sampson, a 383-pound 14-year-old from the St. Louis area, slipped out of his seat as the ride was descending and fell to his death, which was ruled accidental. An investigation determined that sensors on two of the ride's seats were manually adjusted to double the size of the restraint openings.
Sampson's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the park.
Related
Related
