Zombie-themed pub crawl sparks controversy

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — People are concerned that a zombie-themed pub crawl scheduled for Saturday night is too close to the anniversary of the Fort Myers’ Zombie-Con shooting.

A gunman opened fire into the crowd last year at Zombie-Con, killing 20-year-old Tyrell Taylor.

Restaurant owners like Daniel Kearns don’t want to get involved with the zombie pub crawl because of last year’s tragedy.

“We sent out a company email to our general managers letting them know we’re not going to be participating in it,” Kearns said. “We personally love the event from the last few years. But in light of everything that happened last year, we just decided that it’s not best for the city to participate in an event like this.”

Kearns’ decision has put pressure on bars that initially wanted to take part in the event.

Raymond Aulen, another downtown business owner, said his bar was featured on the zombie pub crawl’s flier. But after hearing about the decisions of other downtown businesses, he has also chosen not to participate.

“I didn’t really think there would be that many concerns from the business owners down here because of all the camera’s that were installed over the recent year,” Aulen said.

The restaurants and bars not participating in Saturday night’s event will still be open but won’t be offering discounts for patrons who dress up for the event.

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