A Florida amusement park was forced to halt its newly-opened Bullseye Blast Game after drawing criticisms that the sniper-like game could be comparable to a mass shooting simulator.
The Bullseye Blast Game at the ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, allows riders up on The Wheel, a 400-foot air-conditioned ride where they can shoot laser blasters onto strategically placed targets in the park.
The blasters are designed with infrared lights and a scope that lets players shoot a perfect aim. For players to get the highest scores, they have to hit as many targets for the duration of the 18-minute ride on The Wheel.
Though ICON Park said that the new attraction was well-received by its customers, some non-customers were not amused after seeing the game's promotions. Before the complaints, the game was advertised on the ICON Park website and social media pages, per CBS News.
Not the best decision amid the mass shootings
In a statement, ICON Park said that people questioned the game's appropriateness and sensitivity in light of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, a Chicago suburb, and Uvalde, Texas. Thus, the game has been paused as park officials plan to explore innovations so the Bullseye Blast Game "does not offend anyone in the community," per ABC News.
Dennis Speigel, the CEO of International Theme Park Services Inc., expressed surprise that ICON Park and the games' creators, Amusements LLC and Steradian Technologies, didn't explore and consider the negative attachment to simulated sniper games before launching the game in public. He felt it was not the best decision for the Florida amusement park.
Controversy has plagued the ICON Park since the death of Tyre Sampson, the 14-year-old from Missouri, in March 2022. The boy was killed after falling 70 feet to the ground from the Free Fall ride. He was allowed to ride the Free Fall despite being too heavy for the weight limit.
Sampson's family has been calling for the ride's complete demolition. Tyrell's father, Yarnell Sampson, said that his son didn't ask to die and that tearing down the Free Fall shows respect. It will also be a chance for the family to grieve Tyrell's loss permanently.
The lawsuit from the Sampson Family
But the family's lawyer, Benjamin Crump, said that the companies liable for the boy's death would not be able to sweep this under the rug. In April, the Sampson family sued ICON Park and its affiliations for wrongful death, but the company's lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the case in June, per WFLA.
The motion indicated that the complaints must be separate and distinct from each company named in the lawsuit instead of filing "various claims against all of the defendants together." ICON Park's lawyers also said that the Sampson family's lawsuit needs to establish the facts of their alleged negligence. Each defendant must also be given the right to challenge the lawsuit with a factual basis.
