The Press of Atlantic City, N.J., is protesting a headline in the Philadelphia Daily News, “Tourist Death Trap,” on a story about two Canadian women stabbed to death by an obviously deranged woman at a busy intersection in the center of Atlantic City in the middle of a Monday morning. “Random and bizarre,” Tourism District Commander Tom Gilbert called it.
The newspaper says that the brutal crime was unfortunate for the Atlantic City Tourism District, which has been making significant strides in making the city cleaner and safer, but says “our brethren at the Daily News were over the top – and irresponsible.” The Atlantic City paper says tourists rarely are victims of crime in Atlantic City. A police officer came upon Monday’s stabbings while they were in progress and quickly got the suspect to drop her weapon. “It was seconds too late to save the victims, who died later in the hospital. But the point is, the police were right there.” It says the Philadelphia headline “is not only inaccurate – it’s downright mean-spirited.”