Friday, November 28, 2008
Black Friday turns deadly
A worker died after being trampled and a woman miscarried when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island Wal-Mart Friday morning, witnesses said.
The unidentified worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.
Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.
Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede
Before police shut down the store, eager shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the store clerk's life.
"They were working on him, but you could see he was dead, said Halcyon Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."
Only a few stopped.
"They're savages," said shopper Kimberly Cribbs, 27. "It's sad. It's terrible.
Apparently, this is a regular Black Friday occurrence at Walmart. Here's footage from 2005 showing something similar.
16 comments:
i hope saving $20 on a dvd player was worth it.
losers.
I blame the stores for these things. They have very little quantity of really cheap items and people desperate to get them will do almost anything. Its sad all around.
dying over cheap plastic crap. what sad bizarro world we live in.
idiocracy
Animals.
Savages.
I thought such stampedes happened only in third-world countries. This is a sign that the US is becoming one.
Grown-up people rushing like savages after crappy Chinese goods?! These are the heroes of the US economy, what keeps it going: the American consumers driving with their SUV to the mall on Black Friday and shopping!
This is so disgusting yet so typical of the upside-down absurd world America has become.
End Black Friday already. End Christmas already, it's no longer about Christ; it's about the Chinese goods that are bought, gifted, and exchanged after that.
"I blame the stores for these things. "
I do too. This was foreseeable by Walmart. I hope some heads role - even face criminal negligence charges. Lets look at the cost of having security guards on hand, or, giving people tickets. or, a combination of the above. Small efforts might have prevented this.
I also blame the cretins who broke down the door and trampled this poor fellow. I cant blame the store an absolve the person who was thinkin about a cheap gps who bowled someone over and proceeded to run over his body.
Greedy SOB's
This is why Walmart shouldn't be allowed in NYC. They should have had extra security to make sure there was order. Instead to save a few bucks, they skip the security and allow the mass mentality to take over and rely on police paid for by the taxpayers to clean up their mess.
actually , it was mostly haitians from laurelton and rosedale that were in the crowd that killed the guy.
third world animals...
For what it's worth, here's my take on what happened:
I believe Wal-Mart and other big merchants look for the free publicity of huge crowds forming 10 and 12 hours before the doors open. They do nothing to keep order and calm.
Nearly every year, there are stories on TV about the savage crowds. I believe these stories entice even more savagery for the next "sale".
I believe that the merchants calculate that the publicity, and the crowds it draws, will produce profits that will far exceed whatever losses are incurred from lawsuits stemming from the very predictable injuries and death.
So, this story and its details will be long forgotten next year, but the excitement of being present at the opening of the doors to the "sale" will bring more injury, death and destruction - and profits.
We need laws that require the greatest security and steps taken to prevent this from ever occurring again.
One requirement must be that when the merchant advertises a sale of this type, that it have in stock sufficient goods for sale at the "sale" price for all shoppers. Or, that the merchant advertise prominently the quantity on hand, and when demand exceeds supply, rainchecks must be issued.
Another requirement must be that, while shoppers are arriving to wait for the doors to open, managers walk the lines issuing consecutive numbers to those on line. When the doors finally open, the limited goods can be sold only to those shoppers with the numbers equal to, or lower than the quantity of the particular goods on hand.
Shoppers must be permitted to enter the store in very small groups, with a reasonable wait time between groups.
For God's sake, are they giving something for free?
Aren't we supposed to be the civilized ones?
But then again this is Walmart. Read "How Walmart is destroying America". Ever since reading that book 4 years ago my friends and I have not stepped foot into that store again.
maspeth mom said..
it is totally Walmarts fault - They made the employees form a human chain across the front doors to stop 2,000 crazed shoppers outside. Why? Where was the store managers - they should be arrested for causing this mayhem and death.
I also heard that a security guard at Macys in Rooselvelt Field died of a heart attack after being trampled also.
this makes me want to puke
I would take umbrage with the cowardly anonymous commenter who posts that the Haitians from Laurelton and Rosedale are third world animals.
If that coward is still lurking on this thread then I submit this link.
http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie-news/2168/twilight-fans-start-mini-riot-in-san-francisco-mall
Even white tweens in the city of San Francisco have little regard for anyone other than themselves.
If people weren't cowards, and afraid to examine the REAL reasons why these situations occur then maybe our culture could address this and correct this.
Both of these riotous occurances deal with situations that are not life threatening but instead they are mainstream media manufactured events.
I am thankful that America still allows alternate media to discuss these events truthfully but that only occurs when the media presenter and media receivers are courageous enough to look beyond race and class.
I agree with DP, what happened was dead wrong but don't try to point fingers and blame race and culture. The poor guy died and people want to take an opportunity to be ignorant over race.
Should change the term to Blood Red Friday instead.
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