Black Friday violence got an early start this year when most doors opened Thanksgiving evening. Overall there weren’t too many incidents, but many involved Walmart locations.
An officer suffered a broken wrist after breaking up a fight over line-cutting outside a Walmart in Rialto, Southern California. Two shoppers were brought into custody.
In Claypool Hill, West Virginia, two men were arrested in a fight outside a Walmart. One man suffered a deep knife slash after he threatened the other man with a gun, reported NBC station WVVA.
At a New Jersey Walmart, a shopper was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and aggravated assault on a police officer after the man got into an argument with the store manager over a television set, reported NBC New York.
In Las Vegas, the owner of a new big screen TV was shot in the leg outside a Target store in a tussle with a thief, reported 8 News Now.
At a Kohl’s store in Romeoville near Chicago an officer was injured and a suspected shoplifter was shot in a bizarre battle with police, reported the Chicago Tribune. Police were called to the store as the theft was in progress. An officer caught up with one of the two suspects as he got to the getaway car but he managed to close the car door on the officer’s arm and started driving. A second officer fired at the driver.
The worst Black Friday violence to date was at a Walmart in Valley Stream, New York in 2008. Around 2,000 shoppers stormed through the store doors five minutes before the scheduled 5:00 a.m. opening. Workers tried to keep hold the shoppers back but were powerless against the stampede. A 34-year-old employee was trampled to death.
