Wal-Mart worker dies after shoppers knock him down

rubber314chicken

rubber314chicken

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Rubber314chicken
This is really sad:

NEW YORK (AP) — A worker died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers when a suburban Wal-Mart opened for the holiday sales rush Friday, authorities said.
At least three other people were injured.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Ark., would not confirm the reports of a stampede but said a "medical emergency" had caused the company to close the store, which is in Valley Stream on Long Island.
Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., an hour after the store opened. The cause of death was not immediately known.
A police statement said shortly after 5 a.m., a throng of shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground." Police also said a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation and three other shoppers suffered minor injuries and were also taken to hospitals.
The dead worker's name was not released.
"Local authorities are looking into the situation," said Wal-Mart representative Dan Fogleman. But he said it would be "inappropriate for me to share any additional information" until authorities investigate further.
Shoppers around the country lined up early outside stores in the annual bargain hunting ritual known as Black Friday. Many stores open early and stay open late. The Valley Stream Wal-Mart usually opens at 9 a.m.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iDXtETwP7G17BQsO07DecwxuziLgD94O1UD01


Apparently stores opening at 5am isn't early enough for some people. How can you knock someone over, and then continue to run OVER them? This is really sad.
 
Back in 1994 I drove a truck in food service. On that day, I was covering a different route for another driver off for the weekend.

One restaurant was part of a mall in Marietta. Across the lot was the entrance to Penny's. I sat in my truck with a morning snack after taking care of some extra early stops so I had an hour to kill until the chefs showed up at 7.30. The lot was pretty full but I saw no movement. There were a few standing at the door.

Exactly at 7AM, I saw the doors open. Suddenly, there was this mass wave of women getting out of cars and walking or running to the entrance. I had heard stories but had never seen it.

Don't ever bet on me being outside of any store the day after Thanksgiving unless I have a very specific item in mind so I may get in and get out. That place was competing with the Atlanta Zoo.
 
Sad, really sad and uncalled for. Dang, it's hell-mart. If they run out the next boat from China will be here tomorrow.
 
Yeah, I've never understood it either. Why would you PURPOSEFULLY put yourself in that mass of shoppers, long lines, etc.? No thank you.
 
rubber314chicken said:
...Apparently stores opening at 5am isn't early enough for some people. How can you knock someone over, and then continue to run OVER them? This is really sad.
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C'MON! There were a VERY LIMITED NUMBER OF DOOR BUSTER DEALS and a lot of people standing in line! :mad3:

Besides Wal=Mart getting sued - the union already filed a grievance (Wal-Mart workers are unionized?) look for sales rushes like Black Friday to be subject to retro-outlawing.

BTW, I actually drove to the nearby lower classes town :rolleyes: and entered the local Wal-Mart this week. I needed a replacement home air cleaner filter that I read they carry. Wal-Mart was OK. The prices aren't that great. The one thought I had as I saw some poor schlub pushing a cart loaded with peanut butter and bologna is I wonder what they would think if I mentioned I owned an airplane. :D The teeny-bopper checkout girl was cute in a too-much makeup way. I still doubt I'd go back soon or often.
 
wabower said:
So you don't shop much, eh?
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the last (and only) store I set foot into on black friday was Guitar Center. I got there 5 minutes before they opened, and it was like me and about 12 other people waiting to get in. I got into the drum section, and no one else was in there until I had to check out.

So, no, I don't shop much. Especially at any store where people may go nuts.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Yeah, I've never understood it either. Why would you PURPOSEFULLY put yourself in that mass of shoppers, long lines, etc.? No thank you.
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You should see the women a the mall they had on local TV this morning. "This is our third trip to the car to unload!"

They were buying everything that was marked down.....




...one had an escalator, (Ba DA BUMP!)
 
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I hope they use the store video and charge every single person that walked over that guy and then Shame them to no end.:nonod:
 
Surprisingly, thank God, this year appears to have been clear of such nonsense in Albuquerque.

We had a person shot and killed for their Guitar Hero game when Best Buy sold out, we had a person trampled at WalMart, and we've had fist fights outside, over who was in line first.
 
Ugh. Sickening. :(

The other bit of news I heard today is that somewhere in SC I believe it was, some local storekeepers showed up to open up this morning to find that someone had filled their locks with glue. This should be their one day of happiness in a bleak economy, and the competition had to mess with it. :(
 
knock someone over, and then continue to run OVER them
Toys-R-Us store shooting leaves two dead after checkout dispute
person shot and killed for their Guitar Hero game when Best Buy sold out, we had a person trampled at WalMart, and we've had fist fights outside, over who was in line first.
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Do you guys realize you're describing the same general behavior pattern as the meth addicts in one of the apartments I use to live in? I'm talking about the guy who had absolutely no connection with reality that came at me with a knife and ended up looking straight down a large diameter pipe with a big chunk of lead at the bottom and it po'd him to no end instead of scaring him.

This is our third trip to the car too unload!
They were buying everything that was marked down.....
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That's just messed up. Preprogrammed consumers...

poor schlub pushing a cart loaded with peanut butter and bologna
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He's going to be soooo violently ill of peanut butter and bolonga sandwiches before xmas..and still be looking at a kitchen full of the stuff.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Ugh. Sickening. :(

The other bit of news I heard today is that somewhere in SC I believe it was, some local storekeepers showed up to open up this morning to find that someone had filled their locks with glue. This should be their one day of happiness in a bleak economy, and the competition had to mess with it. :(
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How do you know it was the competition? Could be someone just messing around and sick of the over commercialization of Christmas.
 
AdamZ said:
I hope they use the store video and charge every single person that walked over that guy and then Shame them to no end.:nonod:
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The cops heard you.

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- Police were reviewing video from surveillance cameras in an attempt to identify who trampled to death a Wal-Mart worker after a crowd of post-Thanksgiving shoppers burst through the doors at a suburban store and knocked him down.

Criminal charges were possible, but identifying individual shoppers in Friday's video may prove difficult, said Detective Lt. Michael Fleming, a Nassau County police spokesman.
...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation...mple-worker-death-black-friday-112908.article
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wabower said:
So you don't shop much, eh?
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Growing up, my buddies mom had a bridal shop and made and sold dresses amongst other things. She finally got sick of the business and had a "Going out of business Sale", O.....M.....G.....:yikes: Women ready to kill each other over crap because it was 60%.....:frown2::frown2::frown2:
 
These people will also be high on the list of executions once I attain control.:mad3:
 
mikea said:
look for sales rushes like Black Friday to be subject to retro-outlawing.
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There shouldn't have to be a law though. We all know people are too stupid to be expected to control themselves, so why doesn't industry just regulate itself? I know it's a lot to ask, and a much larger scale, but there is precedence, the concert industry ended General Admission concerts after the The Who show in Cincinatti.
 
Right before the Walmart opens for Black Friday where I live, the manager (or whoever) comes out and asks each person in line what they came for and gives them a voucher for it. They have to give the voucher to a worker in order to obtain the item. I have not seen this first hand, but have been told about it.
 
Local TV news story last night provided additional information, said the shoppers were irate because the store was closed while the fatality was investigated and the victim's body was removed.

Henning said:
Growing up, my buddies mom had a bridal shop and made and sold dresses amongst other things. She finally got sick of the business and had a "Going out of business Sale", O.....M.....G.....:yikes: Women ready to kill each other over crap because it was 60%.....:frown2::frown2::frown2:
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mikea said:
C'MON! There were a VERY LIMITED NUMBER OF DOOR BUSTER DEALS and a lot of people standing in line! :mad3:

as I saw some poor schlub pushing a cart loaded with peanut butter and bologna is I wonder what they would think if I mentioned I owned an airplane.


Maybe he owned a plane, hence eating bologna !:D
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If you think about it, the defense for a civil suit would be contributory negligence. Anybody should know better than to stand in front of the door when a sale is involved.

Henning said:
There shouldn't have to be a law though. We all know people are too stupid to be expected to control themselves, so why doesn't industry just regulate itself? I know it's a lot to ask, and a much larger scale, but there is precedence, the concert industry ended General Admission concerts after the The Who show in Cincinatti.
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pookies said:
Right before the Walmart opens for Black Friday where I live, the manager (or whoever) comes out and asks each person in line what they came for and gives them a voucher for it. They have to give the voucher to a worker in order to obtain the item. I have not seen this first hand, but have been told about it.
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Last summer we went to Kmart early in the morning, before they opened, to get a Wii, and that is the way they did it.
 
Maxmosbey said:
Last summer we went to Kmart early in the morning, before they opened, to get a Wii, and that is the way they did it.
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For us, it was a year ago March, at Target, and the same thing- store's Manager came out, handing out business cards with a line position number on 'em, and told us that they had six available that day (we were number four).

When the store opened, he met us "liner-uppers" and guided us to the service desk to complete the transactions. Kid in front of us (maybe 20 years old?) complained when they would not sell him all three remaining- said he wanted them for his "brothers and sisters" - yeah, right, his brother Ebay, and his sister... ummmm... eBay. The store folks were polite but firm- "one per customer, sir."

All handled very professionally, minimum irritation for the buyers, and (best of all) no forced bundling with a bunch of crap games nobody wanted, like so many were doing.
 
mikea said:
...Besides Wal-Mart getting sued - the union already filed a grievance (Wal-Mart workers are unionized?) look for sales rushes like Black Friday to be subject to retro-outlawing.
...
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I called it again.

Trample death sparks effort to bring Black Friday under control

Two days after a mob of impatient shoppers trampled to death a worker at a Valley Stream Wal-Mart, a Queens lawmaker announced plans to propose a new law aimed at controlling future Black Friday crowds while Long Island officials said they were considering similar measures.

New York City Councilman James Gennaro (D- Fresh Meadows) held a midday news conference on the steps of City Hall to announce his plans to craft a "Doorbuster Bill" that would require retailers to enact greater security measures during major sales.

Hours later, in response to a Newsday inquiry, Nassau Executive Thomas Suozzi said he and the legislature's Presiding Officer Diane Yatauro will meet today to "discuss possible legislation to prevent something so tragic from happening again." The statement gave no details.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy also said Sunday officials will research the need for a similar local law.
...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ny-lidoor1201,0,2514306.story
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The various government entities are racing to be the first to outlaw what happened 4 days ago.
 
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