[Psycom5k]

Black Friday WalMart Worker Trampled to Death by Deal-Crazed Black Friday Shoppers
By Adam Frucci, 12:39 PM on Fri Nov 28 2008

OK, Black Friday has officially gotten out of hand. A 34-year-old WalMart employee was trying to hold back the crowds at a Long Island store this morning at 5am, when they took the doors off their hinges and stormed the store. The man fell down and was trampled by over 200 people as he gasped for air. It's sad and despicable, and it's equally the fault of the dehumanized shoppers and the WalMart store it happened at.

Why was there no line set up? Why didn't they let in a reasonable amount of people at a time? What kind of method is it to just allow hundreds of people to cram up against the doors, waiting for them to open? They may have wanted some photo op of people surging through the doors, but they willfully created a very dangerous situation.

Can you imagine if, say, the Apple store did this when the iPhone was launched? Or when the Wii was launched? When a large amount of people are expected for a retail event, organization is needed, otherwise it creates a dangerous situation. This man's death is on WalMart's hands.

As for the people who did the trampling, well, I hope their cheap crap was worth it. They'll have to live with the human costs of their deals for the rest of their lives. [NY Daily News]

Two men kill each other in Toys R Us shootout

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) -- Two people are dead in a Black Friday shooting at a crowded Toys "R" Us in Palm Desert, Calif.

City Councilman Jim Ferguson says police have told him that the victims were two men with handguns who shot each other.

The councilman says his question is: who takes a loaded gun into a toy store. And his answer is: "I doubt it was the casual holiday shopper." Authorities are still investigating but indicate the shooting may have been gang related.

A manager at a gym across the street says people rushed in crying and shaking.

One woman says she was in the store looking at coloring books with her two young boys when there was a commotion in the next aisle. She thought it was a scramble for a sale, then heard gunshots. She says her four-year-old grabbed her leg and said he didn't want to die.

She said she froze, and store employees calmly escorted her out of the store.

Toys "R" Us officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Palm Desert is about 120 miles east of Los Angeles.

The Palm Desert Police Department received calls of shots fired around 11:35 a.m., Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said.

He said officers were still investigating what prompted the gunshots.

This just sickens me, I cannot believe that people care more about getting fucking christmas presents than another human beings life. I'm sure MD will get a kick out of this though.