Chuck E. Cheese's Darkest Year: 1993'S Tragic Incident

On December 14, 1993, a mass shooting took place at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora, Colorado. Four employees were killed, and a fifth was seriously injured. The perpetrator, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap, was a former employee of the restaurant who was frustrated about being fired and sought revenge. This incident became known as the Chuck E. Cheese Massacre and was the deadliest mass shooting in Colorado at the time.

The perpetrator, Nathan Dunlap, was a former employee seeking revenge

On December 14, 1993, a mass shooting occurred at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora, Colorado, United States. Four employees were killed, and a fifth was seriously injured. The perpetrator, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap, was a former employee of the restaurant who had been fired five months prior to the shooting. Dunlap was frustrated about being fired and sought revenge by carrying out the attack. He entered the restaurant at 9:00 p.m., ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, and played an arcade game before hiding in the restroom. After closing, he exited the restroom and shot five employees with a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol.

Dunlap's actions were premeditated and deliberate. He targeted his former colleagues, ambushing them as they cleaned up the restaurant after hours. The victims were identified as Sylvia Crowell, 19, Ben Grant, 17, Margaret (Marge) Kohlberg, 50, and Colleen O'Connor, 17. They all died from gunshots to the head, with Dunlap shooting some of them from close range. 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 but managed to escape and seek help.

Dunlap fled the scene with $1,500 worth of cash and game tokens he stole from the restaurant. He was arrested at his mother's apartment twelve hours later. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Dunlap's primary motive was revenge after being fired from his job. Dunlap 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 later commuted to life in prison without parole after Colorado abolished the death penalty.

Five employees were shot, four fatally

On December 14, 1993, five employees of Chuck E. Cheese's in Aurora, Colorado, were shot, four of them fatally. The perpetrator, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap, was a former employee of the restaurant who had been fired five months prior to the shooting. He entered the restaurant at 9:00 p.m., ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, and played an arcade game. He then hid in the restroom and, after closing at 10:05 p.m., emerged and shot five employees with a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Dunlap's first victim was 19-year-old Sylvia Crowell, who was cleaning the salad bar. She was shot from close range in the right ear and was mortally wounded. The next victim was 17-year-old Ben Grant, who was fatally shot near the left eye as he was vacuuming. 17-year-old Colleen O'Connor was then fatally shot once through the temple.

Bobby Stephens, 20, the lone survivor of the shooting, had been on a smoke break outside. As he walked back into the restaurant, Dunlap came through the kitchen door, raised the handgun, and fired a shot that struck Stephens 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.

Stephens managed to escape through a back door and walked to a nearby apartment complex, where he alerted someone that he and others had been shot. He was hospitalized at Denver General Hospital in fair condition. Authorities arrived on the scene and found two bodies in the restaurant's hallway, a third in a room off the hallway, and the fourth in the manager's office. Crowell was also taken to Denver General Hospital, where she was declared brain dead. She died from her injuries the next day at Aurora Regional Medical Center.

Dunlap fled the scene with $1,500 worth of cash and game tokens. He was arrested at his mother's apartment twelve hours later. He was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, robbery, and burglary, and was initially sentenced to death. However, in 2020, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole after Colorado abolished the death penalty.

Dunlap stole money and restaurant items

On December 14, 1993, Nathan Dunlap, a former employee of Chuck E. Cheese in Aurora, Colorado, committed a heinous crime. The 19-year-old entered the restaurant, played arcade games and ate a ham and cheese sandwich before hiding in the restroom. After closing, he emerged and shot five employees with a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol, killing four of them. The victims were identified as Sylvia Crowell, Ben Grant, Colleen O'Connor, and Marge Kohlberg, the store manager. Bobby Stephens, the fifth employee, survived but was shot in the jaw.

Dunlap's actions were motivated by revenge. He had been fired from his job at the restaurant five months prior due to a disagreement with his supervisor over work hours, and he had expressed frustration and a desire to "get even" to his former coworkers. During his trial, Dunlap's attorney, Phil Cherner, argued that he had undiagnosed bipolar disorder at the time of the crime and that his attitude had changed since being medicated in prison.

As a result of his crimes, Dunlap was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, robbery, and burglary. He was initially sentenced to death by lethal injection in 1996. However, in 2020, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole after Colorado abolished the death penalty. Dunlap's tragic actions had a lasting impact on the victims' families and the community, leaving a dark mark on the history of Chuck E. Cheese in Aurora, Colorado.

Bobby Stephens, the only survivor, escaped through the back door

On December 14, 1993, 20-year-old Bobby Stephens, an employee at Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant in Aurora, Colorado, became the sole survivor of a mass shooting that claimed the lives of four of his colleagues. The perpetrator, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap, was a former employee of the restaurant, who had been fired five months prior to the shooting. Frustrated about his termination, Dunlap sought revenge by carrying out the attack.

Dunlap entered the restaurant at 9:00 p.m., ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, and played arcade games. He then hid in the restroom and waited until closing time at 10:05 p.m. As Stephens returned to the restaurant from a smoke break outside, he heard noises coming from inside the restaurant but assumed they were children popping balloons. Unbeknownst to Stephens, Dunlap had already shot four employees: Sylvia Crowell, 19, Ben Grant, 17, Colleen O'Connor, 17, and Marge Kohlberg, 50. All of them were fatally shot in close range, with most of the shots directed at their heads.

As Stephens began unloading utensils into the dishwasher, Dunlap emerged from the kitchen door, raised his handgun, and fired a shot that struck Stephens in the jaw. Stephens fell to the ground and played dead. Dunlap then forced Kohlberg, the store manager, to unlock the safe. After taking the cash, Dunlap noticed that Kohlberg was still moving and fired a second fatal shot through her other ear.

Stephens, the only survivor, seized the opportunity to escape through the back door. He made his way to the nearby Mill Pond apartment complex, where he frantically alerted a resident about the shooting. Stephens was hospitalized at Denver General Hospital in fair condition. As authorities arrived at the scene, they discovered the bodies of the four victims inside the restaurant. Sylvia Crowell, who was initially sent to Denver General Hospital, was declared brain dead and passed away from her injuries the following day at Aurora Regional Medical Center.

Dunlap fled the scene with stolen cash and restaurant items, including game tokens, totalling about $1,500. He was arrested at his mother's apartment twelve hours later. During his trial, Dunlap's attorney, Phil Cherner, argued that Dunlap had undiagnosed bipolar disorder at the time of the crime. In 1996, Dunlap was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and other charges, and was initially sentenced to death. However, in 2020, after Colorado abolished the death penalty, his sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Dunlap was sentenced to death in 1996, but this was commuted to life in prison in 2020

On December 14, 1993, 19-year-old Nathan Dunlap opened fire at a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant in Aurora, Colorado, killing four employees and injuring a fifth. Dunlap was a former employee of the restaurant and had been fired five months prior to the shooting. He held a grudge and sought revenge through the attack.

Dunlap was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and other charges. On May 17, 1996, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Dunlap's execution date was initially set for August 2013, but Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed a temporary reprieve, postponing the execution.

In 2020, Colorado abolished the death penalty, and the 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. This decision was in line with Polis' campaign promise to sign a bill repealing the death penalty in Colorado. While some criticised the decision as undermining the justice system, Polis defended it as addressing the inequitable administration of the death penalty in the state.

Dunlap's case brought attention to the debate surrounding the death penalty in Colorado. Opponents of capital punishment argued that it is disproportionately imposed on minorities and that Colorado juries have not applied it consistently in horrific crimes. The commutation of Dunlap's sentence to life in prison reflected a shift in the state's approach to capital punishment.

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