Wal-Mart Employee Dies After Shopper StampedeFriday November 28, 2008
Colleen Long,
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - A Wal-Mart worker died Friday after a throng of "out-of-control" shoppers broke down the doors at a suburban Long Island store in a scramble for post-Thanksgiving bargains, police said.
At least four other people, including a woman eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries.
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 30 kilometres east of Manhattan.
The impatient crowd knocked the man, identified by police as Jdimytai Damour of Queens, 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."
Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help Damour were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said.
Items on sale at the store included a Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV for US$798, a Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum for $28, a Samsung 10.2 megapixel digital camera for $69 and DVDs such as "The Incredible Hulk" for $9.
Damour, 34, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined.
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 (officials) 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."
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.
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 across the United States lined up early outside stores on the day after U.S. 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.
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Seriously, ...this ridiculousness just has to stop!
What is it about Black Friday Sales and American consumers?
Methinks there is a wrongful death suit against Wal-Mart in the works as I type
