Shoppers in the US kicked off their annual "Black Friday" orgy of consumerism amid scenes of pushing, pulling, running and – in one case – pepper-spraying their way through the doors of the nation's shops and malls.
The annual tradition, when many stores open early with cut-price sales on the day after Thanksgiving, has become a source of controversy amid frequent scenes of near-rioting and injuries as mobs of people crowd into big-name shops.
But few can have expected even the most determined of bargain-hunters to adopt the brutal tactics of one female shopper in a Los Angeles suburb who attacked her rivals with pepper-spray: a substance more recently associated with police brutality against Occupy Wall Street protesters.
At least 20 people, including several children, were injured as the woman deployed her weapon. "I heard screaming and I heard yelling. Moments later my throat stung. I was coughing really bad," said Matthew Lopez, a shopper who recounted his story to the Los Angeles Times.
The woman, whom witnesses said appeared to be defending an X-Box games console, has not been found or yet identified. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the gigantic store remained open amid the mayhem and other shoppers continued to roam the aisles filling their trolleys with goods.
The incident occurred late on Thanksgiving evening as the Walmart – like some other stores – had pushed back its Black Friday opening to begin late on Thursday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/25/black-friday-sales-pepper-spray-stampede
Came across this whilst browsing the news and thought I'd share it, I did do a search but didn't see it posted, apologize if it already was.
I'm not that interested in the fact it was an xbox that she was trying to protect, though I'd admit slightly amusing, I just find it interesting how people can act like savages for the sake of saving a few bucks.
I know people are pretty much keeping a tight hold on purse strings but are the savings that large?
Personally I wouldn't give a shit how much I saved, I'd rather wait or buy online even if it cost a bit more. Not really into all this animal stampede thing.
edit: apparently handed herself in to authorities, she must have felt it was the decent thing to do, nothing to do with the fact it was all recorded on video and her mug has been plastered on youtube.
