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Bandai Namco Is Investigating a Potential Bomb Threat At Its US Office - IGN
Bandai Namco acknowledged there is an investigation into a possible bomb threat at its U.S. office.
“We can’t provide any comment regarding the validity of the threat."
Updated: 13 Aug 2019 7:15 am
Posted: 12 Aug 2019 6:08 pm
Bandai Namco is currently investigating a potential bomb threat that was called into their U.S. office in Santa Clara, California, IGN has learned.
Acting on a tip, IGN contacted Bandai Namco about a possible bomb threat made to its offices, and whether it was a credible threat. Bandai Namco provided the following statement:
“We can’t provide any comment regarding the validity of the threat as there is an ongoing investigation in progress. We can say that all our employees are safe and that we will be doing everything in our power to safeguard the well being of our employees.”
IGN has contacted the Santa Clara police department to find out more about the situation as it develops, though we were informed the local department has at least yet to be alerted to the threat. As Bandai Namco continues its investigation, it’s currently unclear whether or not the threat is a legitimate one or ultimately a hoax. Regardless, it’s still a crime, and points to a worrying pattern.
This is not the first time a video game developer was targeted in a bomb threat. In 2018, Call of Duty: Ghosts developer Infinity Ward was also evacuated following a bomb threat. Last week, police responded to a threat against Twitch HQ in San Francisco regarding a potential shooter, and in 2018 a shooter injured three people at YouTube HQ before killing herself.
Every Country Has Video Games, Only One Has A Mass Shooter Problem
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The threat comes two weeks after a gunman entered a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas and killed 22 people, injuring 26 others. 13 hours later there was a second mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio where 10 people were killed, and 27 others were injured. Following the shooting, Walmart announced it will be pulling ads and signage that depict violent video games from its stores.
President Donald Trump and lawmakers have blamed video games as a possible cause for the mass shootings, despite no scientific evidence that links video games to violence. However, the debate over violence and video games will likely continue, even as threats of violence are aimed at video game developers themselves.
Although we’re happy to hear that the employees in the US office are all accounted for and safe, we hope Bandai Namco is able to resolve the investigation swiftly and safely. We’ll update this story with any developments as we hear them.
