Black Friday madness continues
Julienne van Rooyen - Black Friday is just a few days away, and this year we can probably predict that there will be stricter measures in place due to Covid-19.
Previous years, however, resulted in shoppers camping outside stores as from the early morning hours, bursting through the doors when a shop opens, and fighting each other to get their hands on discounted products while staff members stand by helplessly.
In the US for example, the situation got so out of hand that in 2013 when a shopper who was carrying a big-screen television home from a Target store on Black Friday, was shot in the leg while trying to wrestle his television back from a thief who was trying to steal it at gunpoint.
In another incident, a 29-year-old shopper was arrested at a Walmart in New Jersey after arguing with a store manager about a television and for attacking an officer. The shopper was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct, aggravated assault and for resisting arrest.
STAMPEDES
It’s sad to see people turning into animals, with literal stampedes occurring while poor staff members are left at the mercy of crazed shoppers, unable to do anything to control the situation.
During a Black Friday incident in 2008 at 05:00 in the morning, a crowd of about 2 000 shoppers in Valley Stream New York who had been waiting outside for the opening of Wal-Mart, surged forward and broke down the store doors, resulting in a 34-year-old employee being trampled to death.
Shockingly, the shoppers were indifferent to this incident and refused to stop even though other employees tried to halt them. They simply complained about waiting out in the cold, since some had already begun standing outside at 21:00 the previous evening.
The presence of police officers who arrived at the scene also did nothing to deter this crowd, which continued to push and shove their way into the store. There were several other injuries, including a pregnant woman that had to be rushed to hospital.
In another Black Friday incident, this time in 2010, a woman from Wisconsin was arrested outside a Toys ‘R’ Us because she had cut in the line and threatened to shoot any shoppers who tried to object. - Wikipedia
Previous years, however, resulted in shoppers camping outside stores as from the early morning hours, bursting through the doors when a shop opens, and fighting each other to get their hands on discounted products while staff members stand by helplessly.
In the US for example, the situation got so out of hand that in 2013 when a shopper who was carrying a big-screen television home from a Target store on Black Friday, was shot in the leg while trying to wrestle his television back from a thief who was trying to steal it at gunpoint.
In another incident, a 29-year-old shopper was arrested at a Walmart in New Jersey after arguing with a store manager about a television and for attacking an officer. The shopper was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct, aggravated assault and for resisting arrest.
STAMPEDES
It’s sad to see people turning into animals, with literal stampedes occurring while poor staff members are left at the mercy of crazed shoppers, unable to do anything to control the situation.
During a Black Friday incident in 2008 at 05:00 in the morning, a crowd of about 2 000 shoppers in Valley Stream New York who had been waiting outside for the opening of Wal-Mart, surged forward and broke down the store doors, resulting in a 34-year-old employee being trampled to death.
Shockingly, the shoppers were indifferent to this incident and refused to stop even though other employees tried to halt them. They simply complained about waiting out in the cold, since some had already begun standing outside at 21:00 the previous evening.
The presence of police officers who arrived at the scene also did nothing to deter this crowd, which continued to push and shove their way into the store. There were several other injuries, including a pregnant woman that had to be rushed to hospital.
In another Black Friday incident, this time in 2010, a woman from Wisconsin was arrested outside a Toys ‘R’ Us because she had cut in the line and threatened to shoot any shoppers who tried to object. - Wikipedia
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