Local Burger King restaurants have stopped selling a toy action figure whose body is part gun, because the toy's name - Kip Killigan - could arouse memories of a boy charged with killing his parents and two high school classmates.
The name of the toy, part of the promotion for the movie "Small Soldiers," sounds similar to Kip Kinkel, 15.He is accused of killing two students and wounding two dozen others at Thurston High School on May 21. He also allegedly killed his parents the previous day.
Most store managers would not discuss the issue on the record, but one said a memo was sent out to 11 Springfield-area stores instructing them to stop including the movie's Killigan character in the new line of Kids' Club Meal toys.
The decision was made by the local franchise holder, Eberly Franchise Group of Eugene, Burger King Corp. spokeswoman Kim Mil-ler said at company headquarters Monday.
"The franchisee is doing what is best for their community, and certainly they notified us of this decision, and we are supporting them in this decision," she said. "However, we are not taking this action across the U.S."
At Toys R Us, there are no plans to pull the toys, but managers are tracking public feedback. They said only one person has complained about the toy.
The PG-13 rating for "Small Soldiers," instead of a PG rating, spurred Burger King to switch commercials to prime time and drop the "Kids Club" logo from tie-in packaging. Toys from the movie are now only an option with kids' meals, instead of a regular offering.