Knife pulled at Lake compounce

A 16 yr old pulls knife on worker at the parks haunted graveyard.

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(edited link length -J) *** Edited 10/26/2007 6:53:21 PM UTC by Jeff***

That's made even more eerie because of a story I heard on sports radio this morning on my way to work. Supposedly players were mysteriously "cut" in a Southington vs. Hartford football game recently, suggesting players were armed with sharp objects during the game that caused injuries unlike those common to football. I never realized knives were a prevalent thing in that area.

That's a shame that this kind of stuff has to happen. It's the kind of thing that ruins these event for other people that just want to go and have a good time.

I've thought about this kind of thing happening at parks without metal detectors. All it takes is someone wanting to have some "fun," and a worker gets seriously hurt or killed.

Even without a weapon, what if you had a person who just didn't care and just attacked a scare-actor? No wonder security was so high at King's Dominion this year (and yes, they still have metal detectors).

Kind of lends some credence to another thread where security is a much greater issue at these late night Halloween events.

The mindset there totally mystifies me. What was this guy trying to prove, that he wasn't scared? Or that he could scare the actors, thereby appearing tougher?

It's scary to think what might have happened if he had gotten involved in some kind of argument (or even a "perceived injustice")-- would he stab somebody he thought was line jumping? or wouldn't let him line jump? Or looked at him the wrong way?

Luckily, this type of incident is extremely rare so far. How many incidents would parks put up with before they start deciding Halloween events aren't worth it?

I guess the police reports haven't indicated whether this kid was a "re-entry."

Not that it matters, he could have brought a knife into the park during his first, second, third, fourth or fifth entry. If you're going to a park with the intention of using a knife (and why else would you go to a park with a knife?), chances are you don't forget it in the car and suddenly realize you have to go back and get it.

Like you said RGB, I wonder what the guy was trying to prove? What is there to prove in a haunted attraction? If anything, it proves the guy had no balls since he needed a knife to protect himself in an environment where he was guaranteed not to be touched by one of the actors, while little kids walk through completely unarmed.

Damn sad.

You go to a haunted event and some a-hole has to make it real.
Guess it wasn't real-enough for him, but I bet Bubba will change that in the lock-up.

Since I post here, people know that I like coasters. What people here don't know is that I'm an avid knife collector. Therefore I spend a lot of time on knife forums.

This issue recently came up at bladeforums.com where a guy wanted to know what he could get into SFMM. I told him that if he can't obey the rules of the private property owner, he should stay home.

The point is, there are lots of people who carry knives everywhere they go (more than you'd think). Why? Lot's of reasons, but generally not for an offensive use as a weapon (although those idiots are also out there). Scary thing is that there are plenty of options of non-metallic blades available for people who really do want to have a blade on them when they have to go through metal detectors. So unless they start frisking everybody entering the park, you'd be foolish not to assume that some people have weapons on them.

To me there is a huge difference between a guy pulling out a small folding knife to cut open his bag of chips vs. the punk who pulls out a 5" fixed blade knife that doesn't have many uses in urban environments.

Rob, of couse I carry a knife because I intend to use it. Is stabbing another person the sole purpose or use of a knife in your opinion? If so, I guess I've never 'used' a knife yet I've still worn several out with that non-use. For the record, I generally do not carry knives with me at amusement parks.

I thought it was pretty obvious my statement was directed at someone who enters an amusement park with a knife and malicious intent, but if it wasn't I apologize. I'm not sure where you live but having grown up in New Jersey, knives have long been an issue at Great Adventure, especially in the late 80's when people weren't bringing knives into the park to open bags of chips.

I'm not against people having knives because I realize there are plenty of non-violent applications for sharp objects, but there's a difference between bringing a knife into the woods when hiking or camping and bringing a knife into a crowded amusement park. I really can't see an application for a knife at an amusement park. I've never brought one into an amusement park and I've always been able to open packaged snacks just fine ;)

^I don't know, my Gerber multi-tool has come out on occasion because I'm in a hurry, and I'm hungry:) Some packaging can be hard to open.

I've told this story before, but it bears repeating. Back in 91' my friend and I went up to Great Adventure in my Dad's new Dodge Shadow. We get back to the car at the end of the night and it won't start. Unbeknownst to us, the computer chip had failed which let the car start. So we had to get lodging.

A nice security guard agreed to drive us to the nearest motel. Along the way she tells us stories about weekends back then. They would get drunken groups of people from NYC showing up in buses, and she told us that we also wouldn't believe the amount of weapons they confiscated at the gate.

Off-topic: My favorite part of that horrible experience was having to move to another motel across town because the first one wouldn't let us stay (we were not of legal age to get a motel room) and the taxi-cab driver says "You came all the way up here [from Baltimore] to ride a roller coaster?" That coaster was Great American Scream Machine. It's funny when you put things in perspective.

Although I don't understand the need for someone to have a knife on them in an amusement park, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that it's possible to carry one and not threaten anybody.

However, the incident described in the article has nothing to do with uncooperative packaging.

Benefit of the doubt?

People, millions of them, carry knives EVERY day and never threaten a single person with one. That is a fact.

Do people NEED to carry a knife in an amusement park? No, I don't think so. But I know several people where making sure they have their knife is just as commonplace as making sure they have their wallet and keys. They don't view their knife as a weapon, but as a tool, which it is. I'm sure many of these people have carried their knives into places where they weren't allowed without even thinking about it.

The packaging comment was my memories of my grandfather carrying a small folding pocket knife with him. One of the things that he almost always used his knife for was opening any kind of packaging. He had severe arthritis, but he was proud enough not to need somebody else to do it for him. And yes, he did just that at SFOMA years ago.

What the kid did was illegal and he should/will be punished. I just get defensive when people start talking anti-knife like they only have one use in this world.

Unfortunately, in today's climate your grandfather would be the one escorted from the park for being a potential troublemaker. Or at least his "weapon" would be confiscated.

I agree that there are plenty of reasons to carry a knife (although I don't generally have one myself). That doesn't make what this idiot did right, of course -- there's just no excuse for a story like that.

I agree completely. I am in no way trying to justify the actions of this punk. His actions were illegal and I hope that he receives a proper punishment.

What I am trying to do is to keep incidents like this from becoming rallying points for people wanting to ban knives from being carried in public.

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Incidentalist said:

I just get defensive when people start talking anti-knife like they only have one use in this world.

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I get what you're saying but after re-reading my posts and the posts of others, I don't get the impression anyone was insinuating knives have only one purpose in this world. I understand that very well because people in my industry use x-acto knives to make prototypes and they don't go around stabbing each other- just themselves on occasion.

Unfortunately, stories like this one give knives a bad name, just like drive-by shootings gives firearms a bad name and drunk drivers paint alcohol in a negative light. I'm not suggesting knives have no practical applications, it's just that I hate when stuff like this happens... more because of the obvious stupidity than anything else.

Just because this story's been sitting around a while, thought it might be wise to clarify that Haunted Graveyard is *in conjunction with* Lake Compounce, and on their grounds, but is not a part OF Lake Compounce's operation. It is separately-gated and is available as an attraction for guests NOT visiting LC itself.

Also, just wanted to throw out there that Haunted Graveyard is the single best haunted atraction I've *ever* done. The events thrown elsewhere have more haunted attractions, but for a one-dose walk-thru of EPIC proportions - HG is the thing.