Chuck E. Cheese: A Kid-Friendly Restaurant With A Dark Secret?

On December 14, 1993, four employees were shot and killed by 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora, Colorado. A fifth employee, Bobby Stephens, survived despite being shot in the jaw. Dunlap, a former employee, was frustrated about being fired and sought revenge. He was sentenced to death in 1996 but his sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole in 2020 after Colorado abolished the death penalty.

The perpetrator, Nathan Dunlap, was a former employee

Dunlap entered the restaurant at 9:00 p.m. on December 14, 1993, where he ordered a ham and cheese sandwich and played an arcade game. He then hid in a restroom at about 9:50 p.m. and exited after closing at 10:05 p.m. He shot five employees, killing four and injuring one.

The victims were identified as Sylvia Crowell, 19, Ben Grant, 17, Colleen O'Connor, 17, and Marge Kohlberg, 50. Bobby Stephens, 20, was the lone survivor of the shooting. He returned to the restaurant after taking a smoke break outside and was shot in the jaw by Dunlap. He played dead and managed to escape through a back door.

Dunlap was arrested at his mother's apartment twelve hours later. He was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and other charges, and was initially sentenced to death by lethal injection. However, his sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole in 2020 after Colorado abolished the death penalty.

Four employees were killed, and one injured

On December 14, 1993, four employees were killed and one injured in a mass shooting at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora, Colorado. The perpetrator, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap, was a former employee of the restaurant who had been fired five months prior. Seeking revenge, Dunlap hid in the restaurant's bathroom until closing time and then shot five employees with a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol.

Dunlap's first victim was Sylvia Crowell, 19, who was shot from close range in the right ear while cleaning the salad bar. Ben Grant, 17, was fatally shot near the left eye as he was vacuuming. Colleen O'Connor, 17, was also killed with a single shot to the temple. Bobby Stephens, 20, the lone survivor of the shooting, had stepped out for a smoke break and returned to the restaurant as the attack was unfolding. As he was unloading utensils into the dishwasher, Dunlap shot him in the jaw. Stephens fell to the floor and played dead, then managed to escape through a back door and alert someone at a nearby apartment complex that he and others had been shot.

Dunlap's final victim was the store manager, 50-year-old Marge Kohlberg, who was forced to open the safe before being shot in the ear. After taking cash from the safe, Dunlap fired a second shot through Kohlberg's other ear when he noticed she was still moving. In total, Dunlap stole $1,500 in cash and game tokens before fleeing the scene.

Police found Dunlap at his mother's apartment twelve hours later and he was arrested. He was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and other charges, and was initially sentenced to death by lethal injection. However, in 2020, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole after Colorado abolished the death penalty.

Dunlap was frustrated about being fired

Nathan Dunlap was frustrated about being fired from Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant in Aurora, Colorado, in July 1993. The reason for his dismissal was a disagreement with his supervisor over work hours. Dunlap was a 19-year-old former employee of the restaurant when he committed the mass shooting five months after he was fired.

Dunlap's frustration over losing his job at Chuck E. Cheese's was well-known to his acquaintances, and he expressed his desire to "get even" for being terminated. On December 14, 1993, Dunlap entered the restaurant at around 9:00 p.m., ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, and played an arcade game. He then hid in the restroom until closing time at 10:05 p.m.

After exiting the restroom, Dunlap proceeded to shoot five employees with a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol. The victims were identified as Sylvia Crowell, 19, Ben Grant, 17, Colleen O'Connor, 17, Bobby Stephens, 20, and Marge Kohlberg, 50. Kohlberg was the store manager, and Dunlap forced her to open the safe before shooting her.

Dunlap's actions were clearly driven by his anger and frustration over being fired from Chuck E. Cheese's, and he sought revenge by committing this heinous attack. His frustration was so intense that he was willing to take multiple innocent lives and put his own life at risk just to exact his vengeance. Dunlap's case highlights the potential dangers of workplace grievances and the importance of addressing and resolving such issues appropriately.

He hid in the restroom before the shooting

On December 14, 1993, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap entered a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora, Colorado, at around 9:00 p.m. He ordered a ham and cheese sandwich and played arcade games for about an hour before hiding in the restroom at 9:50 p.m. Dunlap, a former employee of the restaurant, was frustrated about being fired five months prior and sought revenge.

Dunlap exited the restroom after closing at 10:05 p.m. and began shooting employees with a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol as they were cleaning up and closing the restaurant. He first shot Sylvia Crowell, 19, who was cleaning the salad bar. She was shot from close range in the right ear and was mortally wounded. Dunlap then shot Ben Grant, 17, in the left eye as he was vacuuming. Colleen O'Connor, 17, was also fatally shot through the temple.

Bobby Stephens, 20, the lone survivor of the shooting, had been on a smoke break outside and returned to the restaurant as Dunlap was shooting his colleagues. As Stephens walked in and began unloading utensils into the dishwasher, Dunlap came through the kitchen door and shot him in the jaw. Stephens fell to the floor and played dead. Dunlap then forced the store manager, 50-year-old Marge Kohlberg, to unlock the safe. After she opened it, Dunlap shot her in the ear. As he was taking the cash out of the safe, he noticed that Kohlberg was still moving, so he fired a second fatal shot through her other ear.

Dunlap fled the scene with $1,500 worth of cash and game tokens, as well as other items stolen from the restaurant. He was arrested at his mother's apartment twelve hours later.

Dunlap was sentenced to death, but this was commuted to life in prison

On December 14, 1993, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap killed four employees of a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant in Aurora, Colorado, and seriously injured a fifth. Dunlap, a former employee of the restaurant, was frustrated about being fired five months prior to the shooting and sought revenge. He was arrested at his mother's apartment twelve hours later.

Dunlap was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and other charges, and was sentenced to death by lethal injection on May 17, 1996. However, his execution was delayed multiple times due to appeals and temporary reprieves. During the years of appeals that followed his sentencing, prison doctors officially diagnosed Dunlap with bipolar disorder. Dunlap's attorneys appealed, claiming his mental health wasn't properly considered during his trial.

In 2013, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper granted Dunlap a temporary reprieve from the death sentence, stating that his decision was made "not out of compassion or sympathy," but because there was "a legitimate question [about] whether we as a state should be taking lives." Hickenlooper's decision upset the victims' relatives and the sole survivor of the shooting, Bobby Stephens, who said, "It's not fair."

In 2020, Colorado abolished the death penalty, and the death sentences of all three men on death row, including Dunlap, were commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Governor Jared Polis. Dunlap remains incarcerated at the Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City.

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