VALLEY STREAM (WABC) -- A Wal-Mart employee died and four others were hurt in the Black Friday rush to get into the Valley Stream store this morning. The injuries occurred as the shoppers crammed into the Wal-Mart when the doors opened at 5 a.m. Police said the shoppers knocked the man to the ground at 5:03 a.m., three minutes after the store opened. A 34-year-old Wal-Mart employee suffered an apparent heart attack Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 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. Four others were also hurt in the crush, including a 28-year-old pregnant woman. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors determined her baby was fine. The store was closed to incoming shoppers following the incident. Those already inside were escorted out with their purchases. Worker dies in Black Friday store rush - 11/28/08 - New York News and Tri-State News - 7online.com
thats ashame. whats absurd is a wal-mart closing..i've never heard of such a thing unless it is during a hurricane or whatnot...isn't wal-mart open 24 hrs everywhere?
Around here just the "Super Centers" are open 24hrs, there are alot of rural Wal-marts around here that arent open 24 hours.
Yeah the one close by to me closes around midnight. There's a big one down the road a ways that stays open 24 hrs though.
Given that people get killed or badly injured every year at wal-mart stores in this situation it seems they would have more controls in place.
i envision gaurds with tear gas and the big sheilds at every wal-mart,target and sears from now on duiring this day lol. and theres really nothing "new" out to make shoppers go mad like past "cabbage patch" or "pokemon"...it's just a regular ol sale.
no doubt the manager should of sensed the madness at the doors and taken control of the situation before they opened..as you state this couldve been prevented in numorous ways.
The greed is what gets me. Walmart is out to put all other stores out of business any way they can. Then, people shopping, thinking about nothing but what they can get is horrible. Such selfishness,greed and some times just plain meaness out of these shoppers is disgusting to me. I never go shopping on black Fri. I really don't like to shop at all. Except for my grandgirls. I'll just wait until late and go do my Christmas shopping.
That just sickens me. I don't understand why people are in such a hurry to get through the doors that all sense of decency gets thrown out? I think every one of the shoppers who were involved in trampling this poor man should get thrown in jail!
Good lord I live in the boondocks of Tennessee and we have a 24hr Wal-Mart. The entire population of the county I live in is less than the student total at UT. Still hate to hear about someone dying though.
This is why Best Buy gives tickets to people in line guaranteeing them a "doorbuster" item that they want. Of course you could just have a semi-intelligent person standing at the door letting people in in an orderly fashion...
Two Killed Inside Toys-R-Us After Shooting Two people have died after a shooting inside the Toys-R-Us in Palm Desert Friday morning, Riverside County Sheriff's Department confirmed. Deputies are investigating what led to the shooting. The shooting happened just before 11:30 a.m. at the store located at 72314 Highway 111. The identities of those killed have not been released yet. There was no immediate word of any relationship between the victims or what caused the shooting to erupt. Several people have been arrested including a teenager who was held inside the store. News Channel 3 cameras captured at least two arrests outside the store including a woman who was heard screaming and banging on a Sheriff's cruiser. Deputies told News Channel 3 that some shoppers inside were evacuated while others were kept in the store shortly after the shooting as deputies swept the store for suspects. KESQ.com Palm Springs, Coachella Valley - Weather, News, Sports: Two Killed Inside Toys-R-Us After Shooting
Just another one of my many reasons to loathe Wal-mart. Is it really worth it to brave the ridiculously long lines and possibly life and limb to save $20 on a TV?
This is insane. We hand out tickets where I work, and everyone forms a line outside the store and sticks to it. I'm the one handing out tickets, luckily no one was really mad when I ran out of tickets. Some said they'll buy other things and then others decided to go somewhere else. Pretty scary that something like this would happen.
i keep it simple i never shop on black friday or any other holiday shopping frenzy type day. in fact, i hate shopping altogether.
Tis the season right? Sad news for sure. I never understood people going nuts on Black Friday camping out overnight to hit the stores as soon as they open at 5 or 6 in the morning. I love Christmas time but absolutely HATE shopping during it, as I find people, specifically the other shoppers extremely pushy and rude. I try get all my stuff done the weekend before Thanksgiving and then usually go out 1 more time and anything I miss I buy online.
This all from the stupidity of people, brought on by the commercialism of what's supposed to be the begining of the Christmas season. All the hype by the media, and the retailers has made so many people ignorant, to try to get one up on the next guy.
May he rest in peace. This is very sad. Here is another blessing of not having the money to spend to be in this kind of stuff, where we lose focus of the holidays.
IT seems to me that going out and endulging in such absolute non-sense should be a punishable offense! What exactly does anybody gain from this? Do people really believe it is the only day of the freakin year that stuff is on sale? I personally can think of about 413,293 things I would rather do...and THAT is just off the top of my head...
Sad, a truly sad death, Greed for things, and poorly thought out precautions led to the man's untimely death, for me it just points out that Christmas will be much simpler this year for me and my family. Life can end at any moment, enjoy the time we have while we have it. BTW, watch, Wally World never misses a trick, the poor guy was a temp worker, and they won't put his death on their record for accidents and injuries at Wally World for the year...
Of course not. There's a reason Sam refuses to unionize or equate his employees to a "fair" wage. Here comes Obama, peeps.
Being employed by Wally World, if the stampede didnt get him, the Lead based paint in everything they sell would. IF Wal-Mart closed ALL its door tomorrow, the world would be a better place. Perhaps not as "Conveinent" a place, but a better place non-the-less.
The most ironic thing about these Wal-mart sales is after everyone beats the crap out of each other trying to save $20, there are usually still 50 or so of that item left.
Guess it's just me, but I REALLY dont want to buy my wife, kids or anybody something that 100,000,000 other people are going to recieve the EXACT same thing. I really dont understand. To me it completely ruins the Holidays all-together. SO my kids might not be the first on the block with this years version of Tickle-me Elmo. Those stupid fads come and go so fast it isnt worth it. I would much rather spend a little time and actually research something that they will enjoy long after their friends have gotten tired of Tickle-me ELmo.... Unless your Opie pf course and then the fun never ends..
Just to pile on, wasn't Walmart sued last year for giving women-workers lower salaries because of their gender?
Wally World is looked upon with disdain at the moment, and IMO, they should have had better prepartions, it could have saved this man's life.
Here I disagree unkucky L, Wally World goes out of their way to completely...and I do mean completely...control what goes on inside a WalMart store, that cuts both ways, they cannot take only the parts they want, nailing shoplifters, and reject the parts they do not.. Someone had to open those doors.
IMO you can put in as many controls as possible, but in the end the idiotic masses are the idiotic masses............... I do guarantee there will be a lawsuit out of this.
The big problem is (besides the dumbies that act like cattle to get into the place) is that its a one day sale. Is there a reason they can't just extend it a day or two to control the traffic? Maybe what someone shoulda done was put up a few of wal-Marts 50" LCD TVs and broadcast the coverage of the terrorist attack in India to put things in perspective for them.