Wal-Mart Worker Killed During 5am Store Opening Stampede

Wal-Mart worker killed after shoppers stampede N.Y. store

By COLLEEN LONG The Associated Press
Fri. Nov 28 – 5:57 PM

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 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 the man were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said.

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.”

The 34-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined, and the man’s name was not released.

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. Source