Imago said:

not just America but other places as well, I see this happen in Japan as well. It's a stupid "freny" which comes over people, I don't get it.

glad to see that we still have at least some of our priorities in place.

very sad

2 dead after shots fired in SoCal Toys 'R' Us

2 hours ago

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Two people were shot to death in a crowded toy store on Black Friday in a confrontation apparently involving rival groups, city officials said.

Palm Desert Councilman Jim Ferguson said police told him two men with handguns shot and killed each other. Ferguson said he asked police whether the incident was a dispute over a toy or whether it was gang-related. He said police told him they were not going to release further details until the victims' relatives were notified.

"I think the obvious question everyone has is who takes loaded weapons into a Toys "R" Us?" he said. "I doubt it was the casual holiday shopper."

City spokeswoman Sheila Gilligan said police told her the shooting broke out between "two groups of individuals that have a dispute with each other."

The Palm Desert Police Department received calls of shots fired around 11:35 a.m., Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said. He said officers were still investigating what prompted the gunshots.

Immediately after the shooting, about 20 people rushed into the World Gym across the street from Toys "R" Us, the gym's assistant manager Glenn Splain told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"They were crying, tearing and shaking," Splain said, adding that one woman came in cradling a baby.

"Some people got into a fight," said Splain, who spoke with some of the customers. "One of the guys here thought it was over a toy, but it got louder and louder and then there were gunshots."

Sarah Pacia of Cathedral City told The Desert Sun newspaper she was in the store with her two boys, ages 4 and 6, looking at coloring books when she heard a commotion in the next aisle. She thought it was people rushing to get a sale item. Then she heard three or four shots.

She said she froze, and store employees calmly escorted her out of the store.

"This is Toys "R" Us. There are kids shopping in there," Pacia said. Her son Jayden, 4, was clinging to her leg. He told her he didn't want to die, she said.

Toys "R" Us officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Palm Desert is a resort town about 120 miles east of Los Angeles.

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Wal-Mart clerk dies as crowd rushes in
Shoppers knocked him over, 'physically broke down doors,' police say
The Associated Press
updated 12:37 p.m. PT, Fri., Nov. 28, 2008

NEW YORK - A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday after an "out of control" throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains broke down the doors at a suburban store and knocked him to the ground, police said.

At least four other people, including a woman eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

"This crowd was out of control," said Nassau police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming. He described the scene as "utter chaos."

Shoppers stepped over man
Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help the man were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said. Witnesses said that even as the worker lay on the ground, shoppers streamed into the store, stepping over him.

Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."

"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping."

The 34-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined. He was later identfied as Jdimytai Damour of Jamaica, Queens.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone. At least three other people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Criminal charges possible
Police said criminal charges were possible in the case, but Fleming said it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," said Dan Fogleman, a company spokesman. "At this point, facts are still being assembled and we are working closely with the Nassau County Police as they investigate what occurred."

Shoppers around the country line up early outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving in the annual bargain-hunting ritual known as Black Friday. It got that name because it has historically been the day when stores broke into profitability for the full year.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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I read the story & felt sick It's awful that people are so rooted in greed & cheap shit & completely forget wtf this holiday is SUPPOSED to be about. & when they tried to get the people out of the store b/c someone DIED, & people just complained about how long they'd been waiting??? It's sick, & so fucking sad...

What is so special about Black Friday Sales that people have to injure others?

gyro34 said:

Because people need more CRAP, & nothing is as important as people & their CRAP

CalhounSq said:

There are plenty of other sales opportunities year round...

Good grief This is absolutely disgraceful!

gyro34 said:

Yea, but something is wrong w/ people when they'll skip Thanksgiving dinner/time w/ their families to sit outside a store in the cold, SO eager to buy nonsense. It's insane...

... the fuck is wrong with people? This is ridiculous.

CalhounSq said:

CalhounSq said:

Good point well made Cal

Just another Sign of the Times (no pun intended)

That's ridiculos.

Consumption Slaves buying products made by Chinese slaves making Walton rich.

CalhounSq said:

And yet hardly anyone will stop for a single moment and realize how insane it is.

SUPRMAN said:

lilgish said:

When are they going to get SERIOUS security in those stores for shit like this? If there is insecurity assholes that keep crowds from killing each other at bars and nightclubs, there should something like that there.

That is a shame.

I went Black Friday shopping for the first time every and it wasn't that big of a deal. When I lived in NYC, I would avoid that kind of crap but down here everyone was laid back and cool about things.

It's crazy what goes on in these stores.

Some years ago, a my friend's mother got punched in the face shopping on Black Friday.
[Edited 11/28/08 19:09pm]

This morning I went to http://www.dogsbreakfasto...ducts.html and it was empty, despite everything in-store being 50% one day only!

i don't believe i've ever been shopping at a store on black friday, and i know i never will...especially now....that is craziness...

i hope they find something on video they can use..

Sad, this is why i dont go to Black Friday events

My only wish is that more Wal Mart shoppers could have died.

Too bad. Maybe next year.

i went shopping at around 10:30am today, and was out by 11am at my local wal-mart, things were calm. was alot of people, but no one was pushing, or being rude towards one another! i worked at wal-mart for years, and i never saw anything near this happen. we always had alot of store security we would hire to hang out at the entrance and outside, to keep people calm, and organized. my husband is a manager of a wal-mart, and he made sure there was tons of security at his store, and things went calm and peaceful at his store. he told me that the mistake that was made in new york is that that first of all, the people were just plain nuts! and second they needed to have plenty of security outside and at the doors. this is very sad! i can't believe the things that people will do for a sale!!! how is it worth it? there are sales year round.
[Edited 11/28/08 22:51pm]

Mars23 said:

not even funny...

Mars23 said:

not funny!!!

lilgish said:

The Consumption Slaves have been brainwashed by the ubiquitousness of advertising. Especially on times like this, TV ads urge viewers to go shop NOW. They are tricked into believing that this is their one and only chance to find items on sale.