BLACK FRIDAY IS HOURS AWAY: PREPARE FOR CHAOS AND MAYHEM!!! (2117 hits)
Black Friday Violence: Police and retailers prepare for crowds and chaos
(CBS) - So-called "Black Friday" sales may be catnip for some holiday shoppers, but in recent years they've also become scenes of bizarre - and in some places deadly - violence.
From an employee crushed to death in front of a New York Walmart in 2008, to a California woman who doused fellow Walmart shoppers with pepper spray last year, mayhem seems to have become part of getting that coveted bargain before anyone else.
"I would advise going shopping some other time if there are long lines and it looks like it's going to be a mob scene," says Susan Grant, the director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America.
According to Richard Mellor, the vice president for loss prevention at the National Retail Federation, stores around the nation are considering ways to mitigate such violence, including having customers line up inside the store to keep the mad rush for the door to a minimum.
"Arguing seems to center around who was in place first," says Mellor, so tickets or colored wristbands indicating, for example, the first 50 people in line, could help control frustration.
Mellor says that retailers will also strategically place the most popular items in locations throughout the store that have easy access for crowds and proximity to cashiers.
Target stores will have security in parking lots before the stores open and plan to maintain a 10-foot "buffer" between the beginning of the line outside and the front doors, according to spokesman Evan Miller.
Officer James Imperiale of New York's Nassau County Police told Crimesider that the department "pays special attention" to the malls during the holiday season, and has met with retailers to advise them on how to best handle large groups of shoppers. Imperiale said the department, as always, will be on-call for issues of Black Friday violence or chaos, but will not specifically station police at large retailers.
In San Leandro, Calif. - where a man was shot in the neck outside a Walmart on last year's Black Friday - Lt. Randy Brandt of the San Leandro police says that officers will be stationed at big retailers planning overnight Black Friday events to help with any problems.
And at the Porter Ranch, Calif. Walmart where Elizabeth Macias pepper sprayed fellow shoppers in 2011, local media reports that this year the store has hired 27 additional security guards, including four carrying guns.
Violence on Black Friday
2011:
Porter Ranch, Calif. - 32-year-old Elizabeth Macias used pepper spray on fellow Walmart shoppers, injuring 20 people. Macias later turned herself in but has yet to face charges. According to the Los Angeles Times, police are unsure whether she used the pepper spray in an attempt to grab a discounted Xbox console, or in self-defense.
New York City: Crowds waiting to get inside a Hollister store busted through the locked doors and began looting around 1:15 a.m., according to the New York Post.
San Leandro, Calif.: 21-year-old Christopher Murillo was shot in the neck in the parking lot outside Walmart at about 1:55 a.m. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the incident was an attempted robbery.
Myrtle Beach, S.C. - A 55-year-old woman was shot in the leg during an armed robbery at about 1:12 a.m. outside Walmart, reported CBS affiliate WSPA.
2010:
Buffalo, N.Y.: Keith Krantz, 28, was injured when he was trampled by a mob trying to get inside a Target store just after doors opened at 4 a.m.
2008:
Valley Stream, N.Y.: Jdimytai Damour, a 34-year-old Walmart employee, was trampled to death when a crowd waiting outside broke through the doors to the store just before 5 a.m.
Palm Desert, Calif.: Two men shot and killed each other inside a Toys R' Us after what was reportedly an argument involving the women they were with. According to the Los Angeles Times, police do not believe the incident was connected to Black Friday deals, but rather a personal dispute.
naaaaa WE will just wait or go on line to shop ,,its tooooo crazy out there for my money ! and those deals will come around right before xmas !
Thursday, November 22nd 2012 at 6:09PM
DAVID JOHNSON
It's outrageous, isn't it? This materalistic madness.
This is part of why Kwanzaa was invented, because we seem to go crazy around the holiday season.
Friday, November 23rd 2012 at 9:14AM
Zhana Books
this the season to be trampled, fa la la la la, la la la la
Friday, November 23rd 2012 at 9:54AM
Kemetria 'Kim' Smith
Kim you are crazy!!! LOL!!!
These riots is why our people should not head out to WalMart, Target, and Best Buy on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and spending money on things that they don't really need.
Also it's flu season so a lot of them are BOUND to get sick.
SAVE THAT MONEY AND DO FOR SELF!!!
Friday, November 23rd 2012 at 10:10AM
Siebra Muhammad
Right on dear sis that's why I don't allow myself to get caught up in the holiday season, ain't nothing HOLY about the HOLIDAYS to me the HOLIDAYS ain't nothing but big old HELLA-days. Our people need to stop being such bonafide morons this time of year. I assume most of them are accustomed to standing in line at the local unemployment and food stamp office begging for a job instead of CREATING a job and growing thier own foods!
Black Friday Shoppers ALREADY Lining Up Outside Best Buy Posted: 11/21/2013 11:59 am EST | Updated: 11/21/2013 12:13 pm EST
FOLLOW: Black Friday, Thanksgiving, Video, Black Friday Best Buy, Black Friday Shoppers 2013, Black Friday Shoppers Lining Up, Black Friday Wal-Mart, Black Friday Deals, Black Friday Shoppers, Business News, Black Friday 2013, Business News
It may be a week before Thanksgiving -- and a full eight days before Black Friday -- but shoppers hoping for doorbusters and low-priced electronics are already lining up outside at least one Best Buy location.
Customers have been camping out in front of the electronics super store in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, since Monday reports local station Fox 8.
Jonas Allooh was the first to pitch his tent, setting up shop at 5 p.m. on Monday, the outlet notes. Next to him is Tony Avitar, another seasoned veteran of the Black Friday line. Both men are prepared for almost anything, bringing microwaves, heaters and televisions.
Perhaps more importantly, they also have support staff.
“He had to go take a shower so we’re here filling in for him until he gets back,” Avitar's mother, Janet Regic, told Fox 8. She also cooks for her son, including a full Thanksgiving feast that in the past the family has eaten in the tent.
A sound engineer and father, Avitar said that after more than a decade of Black Friday camping, the discount-hunting tradition has become a tradition in itself.
"Originally I started because you know I have five kids and when you're on a limited income, or even not a limited income, you want to be able to get them nice presents instead of getting them like some crappy toy," Avitar told local NBC affiliate WKYC. "Then it kind of became a family tradition my kids started coming down and it became a bonding experience with me and the kids."
Large retailers are starting Black Friday deals even earlier this year -- in some cases a full week before their competition -- in an effort to gain an edge.
Walmart, for example, announced this week that it will kick off select holiday deals starting Nov. 22, CNBC reports.
"Black Friday is our Super Bowl, and we plan to win," Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Walmart U.S., told the outlet.
However, consumer research groups caution shoppers to be savvy about how they shop. Just because a retailer claims it has discounted an item, doesn't mean customers are actually getting a bargain, they warn.
“Retailers also trick consumers on Black Friday into falling for bad deals with misleading original prices, knockoff deals, and rebates,” research group Nerd Wallet warns. “Shoppers who skip the Black Friday lines, then, might not be missing much. There’s a strong chance they’ll see the same items at the same prices for Black Friday next year.”
There is one bright spot for retail watchdogs, however: Costco and a few other large retailers, such as BJ's Wholesale Club, told The Huffington Post last week that they will not be open on Thanksgiving this year. A Costco representative, in particular, said the store believes employees deserve to spend the holiday with their families.
Friday, November 22nd 2013 at 2:12PM
Siebra Muhammad
