The Tragic Reason A Customer Was Fatally Stabbed At A Dave & Buster's
Late on Saturday, April 30, 2022, a 39-year-old man was stabbed at a Dave & Buster's restaurant, bar, and arcade in New York City's Times Square neighborhood, according to New York City Police (per CNN). Reaching for an arcade prize on a high shelf, the man, Allen Stanford, knocked the prize, a drone (it's unclear how heavy it might have been), off of the shelf, angering a man — Jesse Armstrong, 41 — who was standing near Stanford with a little girl when the gadget fell and may have hit her, according to The New York Times.
Dave & Buster's is a family-friendly place by design — offering something for family members of all ages with its casual dining setup and arcade games. This didn't stop the two men from coming to blows, which led to the drawing of a knife by Armstrong. Stanford died of his wounds before he reached the hospital in an ambulance called by witnesses. Armstrong fled out the door and down the street but was later apprehended and arrested by police.
It's unclear where the little girl was during this time, but that begs the question: Why would there be a fatal stabbing at a family-oriented venue like Dave & Buster's in the first place? Strangely though, this is just one of several times that a fight involving deadly weapons has broken out at a Dave & Buster's.
A history of violence at Dave & Busters
The fatal stabbing at a New York City Dave & Buster's location over the trajectory of an errant arcade prize on Saturday night is tragic. It's also not the first time that a Dave & Buster's location has been the site of a notable outbreak of violence in recent years.
On November 23, 2019, for example, a fight at a Maryland Heights, Missouri Dave & Buster's led to the descent of riot police on the establishment, causing its eventual evacuation, according to FOX 2. Then there are the dozen-or-so people who were arrested after a fight broke out at a Dave & Buster's in Springdale, Ohio on June 30, 2021 (per Fox19). And as reported by KTVU, a quadruple shooting took place at a Dave & Buster's in Concord, California, on February 27, 2022.
From what employees say about what it's really like to work at Dave & Buster's, it's not the kind of place you'd want to work if you're not comfortable dealing with "rowdy" and sometimes "hostile" customers, or if you have a problem spending 20 to 40 hours per week in a "very dangerous environment." As to why the restaurant chain seems prone to these kinds of incidents, it appears to be anyone's guess.