Wal-Mart worker dies in Black Friday stampede

[Velocity_14]

My heart and prayers goes out to the families!!

People...it really isn't that serious...and to be honest...the sales aren't THAT good to be acting like that anyway...

[catiebug]

From The New York Times:
Detective Lt. Michael Fleming, who is in charge of the investigation for the

Nassau police, said the store lacked adequate security. He called the scene “utter chaos” and said the “crowd was out of control.” As for those who had run over the victim, criminal charges were possible, the lieutenant said. “I’ve heard other people call this an accident, but it is not,” he said. “Certainly it was a foreseeable act.”

But even with videos from the store’s surveillance cameras and the accounts of witnesses, Lieutenant Fleming and other officials acknowledged that it would be difficult to identify those responsible, let alone to prove culpability.

Wal-Mart security officials and the police cleared the store, swept up the shattered glass and locked the doors until 1 p.m., when it reopened to a steady stream of calmer shoppers who passed through the missing doors and battered door jambs, apparently unaware that anything had happened.

And the bow on the not-so-pretty package. I am so glad she was able to finish her shopping, because, as we have learned from the maddening crowds, shopping is the most important part of the holiday season.

About the time that [the Wal-Mart worker] was killed, a shopper at a Wal-Mart in Farmingdale, 15 miles east of Valley Stream, said she was trampled by a crowd of overeager customers, the Suffolk County police reported. The woman sustained a cut on her leg, but finished her shopping before filing the police report, an officer said.

[Virtual Violet]

It turns out there was a solution to avoid this. At a Wal-Mart in my area, they opened at midnight and allowed the customers to come in and browse. All of the Black Friday Specials were available, but the store did not honor the Black Friday prices until sale time. At about 3 am, those who were in the store were given vouchers to purchase the big ticket items they were waiting for (LCD TV) and when the sale started, the items were sold, one per voucher. There was no crush of people running around and everyone was able to get an idea where they wanted to shop first.

This is definitely something all of these stores should consider....the crush of people out in the cold for hours is utter nonsense, and breeds the contempt, violence and indifference that you saw the the New York WalMart.

[madmax]

Anyone that has ever camped out for Walmart sales, Xbox, Wii, Blackberry, Iphone, Star Wars openings or has ever attended a Star Trek convention should be slapped.

[5Knowledge1913]

I am truly distressed by this man's death. I truly hope that the store goes through their tapes and at least try to recognize those first into the store.

These people are plain tacky for rushing into Wal-Mart! If I am going to camp out for a store, it is going to be Neiman's or Hermes or Wedgwood-Waterford, NOT Wal-Mart!

[abaici]

This is beyond disgusting! My family had a tradition of going out to the stores early. I never experienced the shoving or pushing. It's a sad day when people value a tv that will be obsolete in 6 months over someone's life.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by 5Knowledge1913

These people are plain tacky for rushing into Wal-Mart! If I am going to camp out for a store, it is going to be Neiman's or Hermes or Wedgwood-Waterford, NOT Wal-Mart!

See Also:

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Two kids raised by the same two parents under the same lifelong financial conditions and they have such different attitudes..

Sounds like my sister & me. I'm a lot more like your son, while my sister is like your daughter. My mom is a single mom and gets no help at all from my biological father, never did. We grew up without name brand clothes, video games, etc. Thankfully my grandparents (Mom's side of course) are amazing and helped out a lot and we never went without basic things like clothes and food. My sister never understood why she couldn't have the $100 Nike sneakers, etc. Till this day you can see the difference in us when it comes to stuff like that...and it bothers me. At this point she is spending her husband's money at least and not making my Mom feel guilty, but it used to sicken me how she made my Mom feel for not being able to afford stuff.

Mom used to get up to do the Black Friday sales when we were kids so we would have a good toy or two for Chanukkah. As we got older she stopped doing it. We did it once a few years ago when we all needed clothes, we went to the local mall. The mall is crazy during a normal day, but overall it was pretty good. People were friendly, there was no pushing and shoving, and we got some amazing deals.

This year, I decided to do the bit of shopping I had left to do on-line. Well...the only thing that I needed was a birthday present for my sister, I wound up getting her a DVD from Borders, the rest was for myself. But I needed some new clothes so I took advantage of Lane Bryant's buy 1 get 1 free. That was way to good of a deal to pass up. There was no way I was going out and braving the crazy crowds though! And I shopped with ebates which was offering double cash back!

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by 5Knowledge1913

These people are plain tacky for rushing into Wal-Mart! If I am going to camp out for a store, it is going to be Neiman's or Hermes or Wedgwood-Waterford, NOT Wal-Mart!

You don't have to be judgemental where these people were trying to shop. Not everyone in the nation is as rich as you and there are people actually suffering through the recent tough economic times.

Originally Posted by abaici

This is beyond disgusting! My family had a tradition of going out to the stores early. I never experienced the shoving or pushing. It's a sad day when people value a tv that will be obsolete in 6 months over someone's life.

Yea that is really upsetting. They are stupid pieces of crap that will be thrown away in less than 5 years that people are acting like savages over.

I think it's really dumb on Wal-Mart's part too. They HAD to have known there were so many people outside and should have had some kind of order (a line, and security personnel). It's frustrating because I think the death could have been avoided had they at least taken some precautions. They are cheap jerks there @ Wal-Mart so I'm not surprised they didn't put any resources into this.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

I think it's really dumb on Wal-Mart's part too. They HAD to have known there were so many people outside and should have had some kind of order (a line, and security personnel). It's frustrating because I think the death could have been avoided had they at least taken some precautions. They are cheap jerks there @ Wal-Mart so I'm not surprised they didn't put any resources into this.

The employee that was trampled WAS the security personnel - he was trying to tell the crowds they needed to stop. My boyfriend was pretty upset to hear it because he worked his way through college at the same job at Target.

[kddani]

Originally Posted by 5Knowledge1913

If I am going to camp out for a store, it is going to be Neiman's or Hermes or Wedgwood-Waterford , NOT Wal-Mart!

You'd camp out for Wedgewood or Waterford? They sell that stuff everywhere. Hell, I just saw a bunch at Costco today.

[KappaKittyCat]

Originally Posted by kddani

You'd camp out for Wedgewood or Waterford? They sell that stuff everywhere. Hell, I just saw a bunch at Costco today.

Dani, you're my hero.

[the rocketeer]

I went for 8 dollar jeans at Wal Mart and a winter coat, because i still had neither. I was down to my last pair....my $50 went a long way, but watching the wal mart employee holding a group of crazy people away from the Wiis with a box cutter was a little extreme.