Cybercafes in southern California are fast gaining a reputation as the 21st century equivalent of the wild west saloon after an escalating number of violent incidents led to a gunfight outside an internet cafe this week, in which one youth was shot in the leg and another suffered head wounds.
The teenagers had gathered at the NetStreet Internet Cafe in Northridge, near Los Angeles, to take part in competition involving a computer game called Counter-Strike, for which the cafe owners had offered a $300 prize.
But the virtual shooting turned into real-life violence when a fight broke out in the street outside. One witness described the scene as ”like a western movie”.
The injured youths were both of Asian descent.
Now a Los Angeles politician is calling for new regulations to impose security on the cybercafes, which initially enjoyed a reputation as harmless meeting places for people under the age of 21, who are not permitted to be served in bars.
Dennis Zine, an LA councillor, said it was time for the city to show the way in controlling the establishments which are also known as ”PC bangs”.
”We have restrictions on alcohol and cigarettes sales to young people,” Zine said.
”And here we have young people gathering inside a venue, playing violent video games with no provisions for their security.”
He said he first voiced his concerns last July after 19-year-old Steve Nguyen was stabbed to death after returning from the NetStreet cafe.
Two youths have also been killed in incidents linked to cybercafes in nearby Orange County in the past year. The fights have mostly involved young members of the county’s large Vietnamese community.
All internet cafes in Orange County must now have security guards on duty in the evening. There have also been attempts to make users of the cafes register their names.
The co-owner of the venue at the centre of the latest incident, Charles Lee, said that it was unfair to target the cafes as violence could take place anywhere.
”What about the liquor store or the corner laundry or the park?” he told the Los Angeles Times. ”If kids get hurt at the public park, are you going to close it down?”
But locals have made it clear that they believe the cafe has become a magnet for trouble and have posted signs nearby saying ”Move out now!” and ”Get out of our lives”.
The cafes are seen as a replacement for the videogame and amusement arcades of past decades — which also attracted youths who were too young to be served in bars — and are mainly used by young computer buffs keen to try out the latest games.
In the past, the arcades also saw their fair share of violence and crime. – Guardian Unlimited Â