Police investigate EB Games slaying

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jan 29th 2007 at 11:15PM }

San Antonio Police are investigating the tragic murder of an EB Games employee. The unidentified woman was found dead inside an EB Games store along San Pedro Ave around 2 p.m. today. Two store managers made the gruesome discovery upon arriving at the store, following failed attempts to contact the victim by phone.

Police believe the slaying occurred during a robbery, despite no obvious signs of a break-in. Sgt. Edward Wise confirmed that the front door was locked and that the store never opened this morning. Wise declined to detail the woman's injuries or give insight into why police believe a robbery took place. It's unclear how long the body had been inside the store.

[Thanks, Super-Jesse-Mario]

Tags: EB, EB Games, EbGames

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

oosqueaky @ Jan 29th 2007 11:24PM

Not only is this terrible news because a death was involved, but I'd put money down that the media will latch onto this to express some anti video game sentiments.

I'm betting we'll hear from good ol' Jackie boy soon.

Strike Man @ Jan 29th 2007 11:34PM

Initial reaction:

It's nice to know that it took until after 2PM before someone noticed there was a problem, and arrived to the scene, and that was ONLY because the phone wasn't being answered. In other words, nobody else was even supposed to be working at that store until that time, if not later.

I guess that's easier than...you know...actually having a staff of more than ONE BLOODY PERSON at a time at a store...

The direct result of having understaffed stores (or stores with little payroll to run them) to me, as a customer, is little more than having to wait extra time on line when I want to buy my game. But it's probably putting the employees, and the store's inventory in more danger than they should be in, as this story points out. And for what, an extra bonus for the corporate suits?

Super-Jesse-mario @ Jan 29th 2007 11:42PM

What perplexes me (as a former gamestop manager) is how no one bothered to send the district manager to the store to check things out. I know the few times that someone was late to open a store, our DM was always the first to be on call. I am severely disappointed that it took people roughly 5 hours to even notice something could be wrong. I actually managed the GameStop in the mall across the street from this ebgames, so I just thank heavens that no one else was hurt.

chris @ Jan 30th 2007 12:02AM

If there was another clerk that was supposed to work with her that morning, that person just became suspect #1.

I'm really sorry that happened. It's such a shame. But no injuries were mentioned in the article. Lots of us probably think foul play, but what if this was an accident? Either way, I wonder if any of the EBGames' policies will change after this? ...it's still depressing.

Dholcrist @ Jan 30th 2007 12:08AM

This is certainly a sobering story, especially since this is the store I happen to go to regularly. One of my best friends worked in it up until a few months ago, and so I know quite a few of the employees by name. If reports I've heard on the local news are correct, I'm shocked to see that this was probably the woman who sold me my Wii on launch night.

I'm disgusted by the way EB Gamestop runs their stores, and how severely they're understaffed. The security is apallingly bad (so bad that there was no video recorded of the roberry/murder, so the party is still at large), and I can't believe that nobody in the surrounding stores (or the apparently incompetent DM) didn't notice anything was amiss.

I just hope they catch the man/woman/people who took this young lady's life and bring them to justice.

iggywiggum @ Jan 30th 2007 12:08AM

Here's some more info:

http://www.ksat.com/news/10873696/detail.html

They think it was a robbery because there was money missing from the register, but it sounds like they don't have a lot of evidence to work with. I don't understand why a store like that doesn't have security cameras. I work at a shop just down the road and visit that store all the time. She was a nice girl and deserved better.

Hudson922 @ Jan 30th 2007 12:12AM

Gamestops ideas for robbery prevention and personnel considerations are atrocious. I was an assistant manager at a store in Houston back in 2000 to 2002. During the 2001 holiday season, our stores were getting hit left and right, hell my roommate was the store manager at a store that was hit twice in two weeks. After they got hit the second time they called the area manager to let him know what happened, the first words out of his mouth were “what did they get”. I spent most of that holiday season begging and pleading with the DM to at least install cameras or even just fake cameras, but no we hadn’t been hit yet. Then of coarse the day I turn in my notice I got hit. Screw Gamestop and there new monopoly hell I’d rather shop at Wal-Mart for my games then Gamestop.

Edgeworth @ Jan 30th 2007 12:17AM

HOLD IT!

We don't know for sure if roberry was INDEED the true motive of the killer. Anyone could take money out of the register to make it look like the killing was nothing more than petty-theft.

There is more truth behind all this and I will do my best to expose it.

That is all.

johny boy @ Jan 30th 2007 12:29AM

I hope the cops checked to see if the victims keys were still in the building, otherwise the criminal may have just locked the door to buy more time for his escape. Then this would at least let them know why there was no sign of forced entry. Otherwise it seems like a store clerk is to blame.

Dark-Pen @ Jan 30th 2007 12:40AM

man, this is depressing as hell. Its also creepy. Poor lady :(

From what I gather from the previous comments, it seems that EB/Gamestop has some seriously shitty management/security issues, I mean, what the fuck? No security cameras? Not even fake ones? Since when did mass store chains NOT install security cameras? I thought otherwise until now, and that whole ps3/360 inside-job robbery thing that happened late last year made me curious by the lack of a security tape.

Man, so much for wanting to work retail. Too many bad things are happening revolving around video games nowadays. I'm more afraid for the stability of the image of video games than I am about whether or not the media latches onto this or not.

Though, one has to wonder, would this have been any different should it have taken place in, say, a baskin robbins (sp)? This shit's pretty scary, on 5 levels.

Ben @ Jan 30th 2007 12:46AM

Maybe she wasn't murdered; maybe she died on the spot when she saw what the shitty buyback price for a brand new game was at EB/Gamestop, and then saw them selling a used copy of it for $5 off the regular retail.

LuckyChowmeinDude @ Jan 30th 2007 12:56AM

Is Jack Thompson im telling ya , since he cant pass the bill he's starting to exterminate us , eventually he will murder us all , we must unite.

Gamers Anti-Thompson Organization(G.A.T.O) FTW!!!

Ironhide @ Jan 30th 2007 1:08AM

#11

Dry up and die you sack of shit. A person's life was extinguished. You make a fucking joke about it.

I certainly hope whoever did this dies in an excruciating manner.

Jeff @ Jan 30th 2007 1:28AM

Oy...these stores are overstaffed, not understaffed. I should know, so many people worked at mine, I only got one shift a week. If she was supposed to open up the store, she must have been an ASM or SGA, and they usually work alone until around 2. I mean, who comes into a game store that early in the morning? No one. One person is all they need then. There's nothing to fault GSEB on there. As to them being jerks about their stores being robbed, that's true. Also, they do have cameras...usually...

Fisher @ Jan 30th 2007 1:54AM

I used to work for GameStop. We were in a very large building in the city of Boston. It was very common to have employees open the store by themselves, often being alone until noon, sometimes until two or three o'clock. I frequently would talk to corporate about the security issues; if something EXACTLY LIKE THIS HAPPENED, and I was unable to fetch help, I might sit in the back room for hours until someone noticed.

It just isn't a wise idea to have people working by themselves.

And, yes, we got tons of customers in the mornings. Mostly tourists. But I would never trust any of them to notice I was missing and call for help. How would they know?

CubeGuy @ Jan 30th 2007 2:21AM

@ Edgeworth

I was appalled at you for about two seconds.

Then I realized that if I were to go out that way, I'd hope that people could crack jokes at my expense.

That aside... I was thinking something similar. Too much Ace Attorney for me. D=

MoonfirePewPEwPEw @ Jan 30th 2007 2:15AM

@13

I find it awfully ironic you tell someone point blank to die for making fun of the dead. You are no better than the person you are angry at.

Strike Man @ Jan 30th 2007 2:43AM

"Oy...these stores are overstaffed, not understaffed."

Thank you for providing your opinion on this topic. I'll keep that in mind the next time I'm waiting in line for twenty minutes with my game because a single person is trying to handle a line full of customers, half of which seem to always bags full of crap to sell.

I don't think I've honestly seen more than one person behind a counter since I picked up some gift cards for Christmas, and even then, it was just two kids handling a packed store. If I actually were a piece of slime, I could've just walked right out with a handful of stuff, and they wouldn't have even seen me (and I don't doubt that many lesser beings probably did do that quite a bit).

I'm sure it's also just a coincidence that I've only had this complaint since GameStop took over EBGames...

TsunamiPepper @ Jan 30th 2007 3:34AM

This isn't about GameStop or EB Games. It doesn't matter how many people open a store. That would have just meant more victims.
I love this store in SA, and my heart goes out to the families of all the employees there.
All the companies that GameStop owns, EB Games, Babbages, FuncoLand, Software Etc, et al, usually have one person open during the weekdays. It's a normal practice to use payroll hours when they're needed most, like the weekends, or big launch days.
Nothing happens on Mondays. Games rarely come out, the mornings are slow, and defectives get shipped out. That's pretty much it. No matter what store you are. Ask almost any manager; mondays are the slowest day of the week. This isn't about the company.
Let's not flame GameStop for someone getting murdered. If it were Mom and Pop's Video Game-o-rama, you'd be singing another tune.

Rubang B @ Jan 30th 2007 8:39AM

Hey comment 11:

1) All death is funny.

2) All life is funny.

3) Chill out.

RYAN @ Jan 30th 2007 8:51AM

I worked at FuncoLand for 3 years. There were MANY days I opened or closed by myself...simply because it was slow as HELL! Why would gamestop want to pay TWO people to sit on their butts playing videogames when they only needed to pay one? Just because in one store, something MIGHT happen? Who's to say we wouldn't have had two victims then? And suggesting that Gamestop effectively DOUBLE their payroll costs nationwide because of this slight chance is simply ludicrous. It will never happen.

How many gas stations have you gone into late at night....how often is there just one clerk working? What do you think the ratio is from gas stations robbed to gamestops?

I do think fake cameras are a good, relatively cheap deterrant though and they SHOULD implement something like that.

In the store I worked in, we had R.O.B. sitting on the counter. We put a sign on it that said "R.O.B. IS WATCHIING YOU" and told people he was a camera.

lol :)

I am sorry for her death, and I hope Gamestop puts something in motion to deter this from happening again, but I assure it will NOT be mandatory dual posting on shift. That won't happen.

Zequel @ Jan 30th 2007 9:07AM

Why is this gaming news? Similiar to if someone, say in Florida, kills someone for jewelry and an xbox, why is that gaming news?
Does Engadget cover stories of men bludgeoning others over the head with cell phones? If someone slaughters people at a McDonalds, is it fast fodo news? I don't think so. Get real gaming news or don't bother posting. The reason EB/Gamespot (I worked there) exists is because they only have 1 manager work the 9-5 shift M-F 'cause there's very little traffic non-Christmas time. They'd be burning money otherwise, business geniuses.

Stephen @ Jan 30th 2007 1:24PM

Okay, in response to #19, who as quoted said "Ask almost any manager; mondays are the slowest day of the week. This isn't about the company.
Let's not flame GameStop for someone getting murdered." Okay, then if there is only one person opening a store 75% of the week, then how come the security is not better in these stores? Being a former EB/Gamestop ASM, I should know that all that company cares about is what gets stolen from the store, to them employees are replacable. Someone should really get on this company to either improve their work conditions or increase security. It's not like they're selling candy or food, they're selling the most wanted consumer items on the planet right now. $650 for a PS3, and usually $50 for most new games means that these stores are going to become easier targets as criminals learn that they have little to no security, and are extremely understaffed during weekday hours. So yes, I don't blame Gamestop for using one person on a Monday morning, but I do blame them for showing little to no effort in making sure that person has a safe and successful day.

MRuffino @ Jan 30th 2007 11:05AM

I mean this happens all the time. But what oosqueaky wrote is true. Now that it happened in a Video Game store its all going to be blamed that its the video games fault.

Looks like another hit for the guys a Running With Scissors

Crono @ Jan 30th 2007 11:11AM

My buddy works at a EB in a seedy part of town. Its in a mall. There are no cameras.

And the EB's that do have cameras aren't watching the store, or the door, they're watching the employees behind the counter, to make sure THEY aren't stealing anything.

EB/Gamestop is an atrocious place to work with horrible business practices. Not to mention they love to dick the consumer.

Go to best buy instead. Or Ebay.

vulgarian37 @ Jan 31st 2007 1:56AM

This is completely the fault of Gamestop/EB. Up until a few months ago I worked as a Senior Game Advisor(I quit before the x-mas rush) at Gamestop. I worked in a strip mall that was an island in the same parking lot as a Super Wal-mart. 95% of the time when I opened I worked from 9 until 2(noon on Saturdays and Sundays) all by myself. To the people that say no one buys video games that early it didn't matter what day or time of the year it was sometimes it was slow and other times it was so packed I had a line to the back of the door. It would have been so easy for someone to walk up behind me while I was opening or showing up to work and force me into the store with some type of weapon and get me to turn off the alarm and open the safe/registers. Then procede to kill me and take off locking the doors behind them. That is exactly the reason you spend money on things like having more than one person open a store, security camera's, and an alarm(which i'm told by a friend who is still a manager they didn't even have.) because something like this might/did happen and having more than one person could of prevented this needless tragedy. It's common sense that a person is less likely to do something like this even if they have a weapon when more than one person is around. To #21 Gamestop/EB is now making it mandatory that more than one person opens/closes the stores at all times because of this. Gamestop/EB has some horrible buisness practices this was one of them. They are more interested in profit and making your numbers than the safety and security of their emoployees. Greed is was killed this woman both figuratively and literally. I hope her life was worth the money you saved, but i'm sure the corporate office is more worried about bad press than anything else. On a side note when a store close to mine was robbed at gunpoint my Manager told me that the first thing the District Manager asked the person who reported it was, "What did they get?".

Tom @ Jan 31st 2007 3:50AM

"Does Engadget cover stories of men bludgeoning others over the head with cell phones?" ~ Zequel

Men? No. Women? Yes.

http://www.engadget.com/2005/03/31/naomi-campbell-beats-yet-another-assistant-with-blackberry/

Chris @ Jan 31st 2007 10:07AM

To the people who want to bitch about what went on in the store..yes several things could have been done to prevent this and also to not responding sooner. This was one of my family members. Please pray that Amber may enter the gates of heaven and for the person who did this get caught and suffer for what they have done.

ebgameadvisor @ Jan 31st 2007 10:30AM

Its crazy how people would do anything these days for a video game system or for money i feel really unsafe now considering i work at a eb games in chicago...i really dont have any words to say to what happend its very tragic and a great lose to the ebgames/gamestop family words cant really desribe what im feeling right now becuz i have noticed when something happens in a store or something is missing a manager will only ask oo what's missing thats the first words out of their mouth they hardley ever ask ooo are u okay...

Greg @ Jan 31st 2007 6:44PM

First off, I wanna say that's a horrible tragic shame that Amber had to die. My prayers to her family and loved ones.

Second, I'm a former EB Games employee myself. Going on 14 months now since I left. I left on my own accord, I wasn't fired. I used to work at the exact same store where Amber worked. I had always complained about the lack of security surveillance in the store. Seeing as how management is always stressing to the employees to keep a lookout for people trying to steal. I've always done my best to prevent any theft from happening in the store. There was one occassion where some merchandise was stolen right under my nose. One of those thefts where they distract your attention. Of course, as a result, I'm told to pay more attention. Well, the theft continues to happen to more of my fellow employees throughout the remainder of my job at EB.

The store eventually wound up purchasing a camera. A fake one. A fake one, which I believe, remained in the back/storage room, as opposed to on the sales floor. Ok, a fake camera is a deterrent, but for pete's sake at least use the damn thing instead of letting it collect dust. But still, for a store that doesn't have one of those detectors by the door, they should have real cameras. Honestly, anyone could just walk into the store, grab something, and walk out without us even knowing about it. (Granted that's if we kept our guard down). Whether or not the placement of security cameras could have prevented Amber's death is unknown. But at least it would have provided good evidence to help authorities catch the killer before he/she takes another life.

Jack @ Feb 3rd 2007 9:43PM

Ok I used to frequent the store on San Pedro when I lived up in San Antonio, hell I even put in an application there and I still think that this is crazy that this happened. I know work at an EBGames in a smaller town. As for the person up there that said it got worst after the merger with GameStop I'm going to have to disagree with you. After the merger, our store fired the original manager hired somebody competent and got the store running right, then they proceeded to install video cameras one watching the backroom and one that watches the entire sales floor not like the people falsely stated above that they only watched employees. Sure inside theft is a problem, its like that in any retail job. And as for saying the company doesn't care about safety and only care about profits that is completely bogus maybe you have just experienced an a$$hole for a DM but ours is not like that. Also if they are so worried about profits why is GameStop offering such a large reward for anyone who can lead to the arrest of the suspect? As for the opening by yourself yes it does happen but it is usually verrry slow especially on a Monday which lets the opening manager do all the operations work, like title-on-hand where they scan all games on the floor to make sure they are there and do things like send out the defectives. If the pace does start to pick up and get really busy then they call a GA(part timer) and see if any are available to come in then cut hours later in the week, it's not that complicated of a process and happens in many retail stores. It is very tragic thing that happened and I hope that GameStop really steps up on the placement of cameras, I thought once we got our cameras in our EB and GameStop in my small town, stores like these that are targets for burglaries would surely have them. Hopefully GameStop takes this as a wake-up call and really cracks down on getting the cameras put in in all stores.