Arcade bar patron goes on 2-day ax rampage

A patron of an aquatic-themed arcade-games bar in New Orleans threatened employees, locked them inside, smashed windows and later used an ax to destroy everything inside.

It all started when a patron of the Sea Cave Arcade and Bar in New Orleans started covering vintage arcade machines with stickers from a supermarket price gun. After being told by a member of staff to leave, the man, who apparently goes by the name ‘The Wolf’, asked the employee if he was ‘interested in dying.’ But that was only the beginning.

Before escorting him from the premises, the staff refunded The Wolf’s arcade membership. He had only become a patron a few months ago, but had already earned a reputation for being extremely rude and making other people feel very uncomfortable. After being kicked out, he reportedly threatened staff members with a butterfly knife in the parking lot and mentioned owning an assault rifle. Eventually, he left – but, as it turned out, not for long.

Later that same evening, he returned to the arcade and, using a bicycle lock to secure the exterior door, trapped the customers and employees inside. Then he proceeded to smash all the windows, sending glass flying all over the place. The patrons and staff managed to escape through a rear door, and called the police, but officers arrived too late to arrest the man.

Undeterred, The Wolf came back again during the night and smashed the arcade’s remaining windows. Again, the cops were called, but, again, they arrived too late. This chain of events was repeated several times throughout the night until, eventually, the man broke his way into the arcade and used an ax to destroy every single monitor, arcade machine, and television in sight. Once again, the police were called, and, once again, they arrived too late. 

All of the night’s shocking events were caught on security camera as the horrified arcade owner monitored the footage from home. He estimates the total damage to his property to be between $30,000 and $50,000. He’s set up a crowdfunding page to raise funds for the restoration, but says many of the parts used in the vintage arcade cabinets are no longer in production and would be near-impossible to find.

Almost unbelievably, the next evening, while a group of employees and dismayed patrons were cleaning up the destruction left behind by The Wolf, he allegedly returned again, this time brandishing a handgun, and screamed, “I’m cartel and I’m shutting this business down!” The staff and customers managed to escape once again, and the man ran off.

This time, though, the police did manage to catch and arrest him. The Wolf’s real name turns out to be Mitchell Sydney McNeely, and he reportedly already had multiple warrants for aggravated assault in his home state of Utah. No further information about the suspect’s previous convictions – or state of mind – has been released so far.