Shopping ritual turns sour in US
Source: Agencies |
November 27, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BLACK Friday's typical jostling and jockeying took a more ominous turn during this year's bargain-hunting ritual in the United States with a shooting, a pepper spraying and other episodes of violence that left several people injured.
In the most serious case, a robber shot a shopper who refused to give up his purchases outside a San Leandro, California, Wal-Mart store, leaving the victim hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
A record number of shoppers were expected to head out to stores across the US this weekend to take advantage of discounts of up to 70 percent. For three days starting on Black Friday, 152 million people are expected to shop, up about 10 percent from last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Thanksgiving weekend in the US is huge for retailers, particularly Black Friday, so called because of the accounting practice of recording losses in red and profits in black. Over the past six years, Black Friday was the biggest sales day of the year, and it is expected to keep that crown this year, though shoppers seem to be procrastinating more every year, and the fate of the holiday season is increasingly coming down to the last few days.
Police in San Leandro, east of San Francisco, said the victim and his family were walking to their car around 1:45am on Friday when they were confronted by a group of men who demanded their shopping items. When the family refused, a fight broke out, and one of the robbers pulled a gun and shot the man, said Sergeant Mike Sobek.
"The suspects saw these guys, got out of their car and tried to rob them but were unsuccessful," Sobek said.
At another Wal-Mart in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, a woman trying to get the upper hand to buy cheap electronics unleashed pepper spray on a crowd of shoppers, causing minor injuries to 20 people, police said.
The attack took place about 10:20pm on Thursday shortly after doors opened for the sale at the Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch in the San Fernando Valley. The woman got away in the confusion, but could face felony battery charges if found, police Sergeant Jose Valle said.
In Sacramento, California, a man was stabbed outside a mall on Friday in an apparent gang-related incident as shoppers were hitting the stores.
The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The stabbing stemmed from a fight between two groups around 3am in front of a Macy's department store.
In the most serious case, a robber shot a shopper who refused to give up his purchases outside a San Leandro, California, Wal-Mart store, leaving the victim hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
A record number of shoppers were expected to head out to stores across the US this weekend to take advantage of discounts of up to 70 percent. For three days starting on Black Friday, 152 million people are expected to shop, up about 10 percent from last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Thanksgiving weekend in the US is huge for retailers, particularly Black Friday, so called because of the accounting practice of recording losses in red and profits in black. Over the past six years, Black Friday was the biggest sales day of the year, and it is expected to keep that crown this year, though shoppers seem to be procrastinating more every year, and the fate of the holiday season is increasingly coming down to the last few days.
Police in San Leandro, east of San Francisco, said the victim and his family were walking to their car around 1:45am on Friday when they were confronted by a group of men who demanded their shopping items. When the family refused, a fight broke out, and one of the robbers pulled a gun and shot the man, said Sergeant Mike Sobek.
"The suspects saw these guys, got out of their car and tried to rob them but were unsuccessful," Sobek said.
At another Wal-Mart in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, a woman trying to get the upper hand to buy cheap electronics unleashed pepper spray on a crowd of shoppers, causing minor injuries to 20 people, police said.
The attack took place about 10:20pm on Thursday shortly after doors opened for the sale at the Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch in the San Fernando Valley. The woman got away in the confusion, but could face felony battery charges if found, police Sergeant Jose Valle said.
In Sacramento, California, a man was stabbed outside a mall on Friday in an apparent gang-related incident as shoppers were hitting the stores.
The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The stabbing stemmed from a fight between two groups around 3am in front of a Macy's department store.
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