In downtown Senoia, fiction often blends with reality as fans of “The Walking Dead” dress up in full costume and makeup and tour the town.
But one local resident took issue with the tourists and confronted them Saturday.
When a “Walking Dead” tour group, fully dressed as zombies, passed by Katie Lou’s Cafe, Tom Malone stopped them, according to police. Tourists are common in Senoia, a filming location for the popular TV show.
One of the tourists, Terrie Hamrick, told police that Malone blocked them from passing through, becoming verbally abusive and using profanity to tell them to “get off his sidewalk.”
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Malone later explained he doesn’t like people dressed up as zombies outside the restaurant because “it scared some of his customers,” according to the police report.
The police identified Malone as an employee of the cafe, though on social media one of the restaurant’s owners reportedly said he is a regular customer but not an employee.
The tour provider, Walkin’ Dead Tours of Haralson, described the incident on Facebook as a “verbal and physical assault,” saying the group was “shocked and shook up.”
The group included children, and one of the tourists, Frederick Northrop Jr., confronted Malone, telling him not to curse in front of them, according to police.
Northrop said Malone pushed him, which Malone denied to police. Other witnesses also told police there was no physical contact.
Malone told the tour group that the sidewalk closest to the cafe was private property, which the police said is incorrect.
A waitress reportedly also came out and confronted the group as they were leaving, according to a public Facebook post that describes her cursing and flipping off the “walkers,” as the town refers to them.
Katie Lou’s Cafe confirmed on Facebook that one of its waitresses was involved, saying she “was upset by their hostility toward some of our longtime customers. That will not happen again.”
No one was charged.
The cafe further stated, “The owners and management of Katie Lou’s were not involved in this incident. We appreciate the tourists who come here to visit our beautiful town.”
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