Ever since Pokémon Go debuted earlier this summer, there have been reports of people playing the “augmented reality” mobile phone game in inappropriate places. Pokémon have been spotted — and caught — in cemeteries, the September 11 Memorial in New York, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., all a result of the game listing the locations as designated PokeStops.
Now, the offense has crept into New England, as the site of the Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island, has been listed as targeted location to catch the fictional game characters.
And according to WCVB Channel 5 in Boston, relatives of the 100 people killed and more than 230 injured the night of a Great White concert on February 20, 2003 are understandably not happy about it.
From WCVB:
“The Associated Press learned of the PokeStop when visiting the site last week. The site in West Warwick is currently surrounded by a fence while a memorial is being built.
Family members and survivors called it outrageous when informed by the AP about the stop and called for it to be removed. They were also not happy that the game incorrectly describes the fire as having killed 200 people, double the number killed.”
WCVB reports that all PokeStops have to be approved by game developer Niantic, and several spots around the world have made requests for the company to have their locations removed. Among the areas removed from the game since its launch are the aforementioned Holocaust Museum and September 11 Memorial, and the the atomic bomb memorial park in Hiroshima, Japan. Niantic has not responded to requests for comment.
The Station Nightclub fire remains the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in United States history.