Wal-Mart worker dies after shoppers knock him down
NEW YORK (AP) -- A worker was killed in the crush Friday after a throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains burst through the doors at a suburban Wal-Mart, authorities said.
At least four other people were injured, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island was closed.
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 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.
"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," co-worker Jimmy Overby, 43, told the Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too. ... I literally had to fight people off my back."
Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m. The man's name was not released and the cause of death was not immediately known.
A police statement said shortly after the store's 5 a.m. opening time, shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground."
A metal portion of the door was crumpled like an accordion.
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, and some of the most dramatic bargains are available in limited quantities.
Among the bargains offered by Wal-Mart for Friday were Samsung 50-inch high definition Plasma TVs for less than $800.
Witnesses told the Daily News that before the store was closed, eager shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the worker's life.
"They were working on him, but you could see he was dead," said Halcyon Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."
A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation, and she and the unborn baby were both reported to be OK, said Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a Nassau County police spokesman. Four or five other people suffered minor injuries, he said.
Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman at National Retail Federation, said the group knew of no other incident where a retail employee has died working on the day after Thanksgiving.
Wal-Mart is working closely with police, company spokesman Dan Fogleman said.
"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," Fogleman said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this difficult time."
We are a despicable and worthless species. That's all.
The irony. While getting ready to celebrate the (wrong) day of birth of a guy who deplored physical wealth over feelings for their fellow man, they trample to death one of their fellow men in an eager rush to obtain physical wealth.
Something about Libertarianism always bothered me. Then one day, I realized what it was:
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around! If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!! Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
Coyote wrote:The irony. While getting ready to celebrate the (wrong) day of birth of a guy who deplored physical wealth over feelings for their fellow man, they trample to death one of their fellow men in an eager rush to obtain physical wealth.
But, dude, 50 inch plasmas for $800.
But man, they broke into the store. Somehow, I doubt anyone is going to be charged for this.
They didn't break in, they just busted the door as it was being opened.
I wonder how wal-mart is going to respond to this. Or even if they will respond at all.
Vendetta wrote:Richard Gatling was a pioneer in US national healthcare. On discovering that most soldiers during the American Civil War were dying of disease rather than gunshots, he turned his mind to, rather than providing better sanitary conditions and medical care for troops, creating a machine to make sure they got shot faster.
Shots fired at Toys R Us in Palm Desert; 2 dead
12:42 PM, November 28, 2008
A gunman opened fire at a Toys R Us store in Palm Desert, killing two and causing shoppers at the busy store to scramble for cover.
Riverside County sheriff and fire officials responded to a report of a shooting and two gunshot victims at 11:32 a.m. at the toy store in the Desert Crossing Shopping Center at 72314 Highway 111, said Cheri Patterson, information officer for Riverside County Fire and Cal Fire, based in Perris.
"We have two dead individuals inside the store," Dennis Guitierrez of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department told the Associated Press. "The events of why the shots were fired is still ongoing."
Details about the shooting were still spotty, but witnesses said the scene at the store and nearby businesses was chaotic. Witnesses told TV stations that shoppers were evacuated at about 11:30 a.m. and were told a gunman was in the store.
“I’ve got a bunch of people from Toys R Us that ran out of the building,” Jeff Vallaire, a worker at a nearby World Gym, told the Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs. “I’m just hearing from what they told me. They ran out the back. They heard gunshots and came in here. ... It’s pretty crazy around here right now."
-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Andrew Blankstein
Initial police reports to the city of Palm Desert said “there were two groups inside that had issue with each other,” said Assistant City Manager Sheila Gilligan. “And the two men inside pulled their weapons and shot each other.”
Hawkwings wrote:I wonder how wal-mart is going to respond to this. Or even if they will respond at all.
They'll start taking out life insurance policies on temp workers as well as regulars.
Something about Libertarianism always bothered me. Then one day, I realized what it was:
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around! If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!! Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
Pint0 Xtreme wrote:What the fuck is wrong with these people??
In all probability? Nothing. When in mobs, people become something less than human as the mob takes on an almost collective life of its own. This phenomenon is extremely well-documented, if poorly-understood. The scary thing is that you're most probably seeing *normal* human psychology at work here, not anything pathological.
It is called diffusion of responsibility. It is the same reason why people can see someone dying in the streets and not do anything about it.
Frankly, they have credit card recipts and bank notes from everyone that made purchases that day. Hunt them down. use the in store cameras, and charge everyone that came in during that period with criminally negligent homicide and felony assault.
GALE Force Biological Agent/
BOTM/Great Dolphin Conspiracy/ Entomology and Evolutionary Biology Subdirector:SD.net Dept. of Biological Sciences
There is Grandeur in the View of Life; it fills me with a Deep Wonder, and Intense Cynicism.
Alyrium Denryle wrote:Frankly, they have credit card recipts and bank notes from everyone that made purchases that day. Hunt them down. use the in store cameras, and charge everyone that came in during that period with criminally negligent homicide and felony assault.
Um, it might be more effective (never mind easier) to go after this "Black Friday" horseshit instead. I mean, they call it BLACK FRIDAY, FFS! Pass a law prohibiting stores from holding specials under a minimum of seventy-two hours or whatever would be a safer length of time. There, no more human stampedes. And without ludicrous punitive action.
Alyrium Denryle wrote:Frankly, they have credit card recipts and bank notes from everyone that made purchases that day. Hunt them down. use the in store cameras, and charge everyone that came in during that period with criminally negligent homicide and felony assault.
Um, it might be more effective (never mind easier) to go after this "Black Friday" horseshit instead. I mean, they call it BLACK FRIDAY, FFS! Pass a law prohibiting stores from holding specials under a minimum of seventy-two hours or whatever would be a safer length of time. There, no more human stampedes. And without ludicrous punitive action.
It is hardly ludicrous. Someone is dead. The individuals in the throng that killed him all failed in their moral and legal obligations. No one stopped to help, no one shielded him from the crowd. They just trampled the poor bastard. Diffusion of responsibility or no applying the Reasonable Person standard that is rather firmly on the books, they all need to be criminally charged.
I also support the idea that this Black Friday bullshit needs to go as well.
GALE Force Biological Agent/
BOTM/Great Dolphin Conspiracy/ Entomology and Evolutionary Biology Subdirector:SD.net Dept. of Biological Sciences
There is Grandeur in the View of Life; it fills me with a Deep Wonder, and Intense Cynicism.
I agree on ethical grounds, I find it ludicrous pragmatically. No sane lawyer would dare prosecute such a case, and I MYSELF could adequately argue in their defense. It's not going to bring back any trampled people, so preventing additional deaths next year is what's important- not vindictively spreading the pain for- what was the reason again? "Justice?" You still believe in that? If you're interested in deterrence, it's both easier (read: possible) and more effective to, like I said, go after the stores.
Darth Raptor wrote:I agree on ethical grounds, I find it ludicrous pragmatically. No sane lawyer would dare prosecute such a case, and I MYSELF could adequately argue in their defense. It's not going to bring back any trampled people, so preventing additional deaths next year is what's important- not vindictively spreading the pain for- what was the reason again? "Justice?" You still believe in that? If you're interested in deterrence, it's both easier (read: possible) and more effective to, like I said, go after the stores.
Yes. I do think there is such thing as justice within the framework of a legal system.
One could always slap legal sanctions on Walmart...
GALE Force Biological Agent/
BOTM/Great Dolphin Conspiracy/ Entomology and Evolutionary Biology Subdirector:SD.net Dept. of Biological Sciences
There is Grandeur in the View of Life; it fills me with a Deep Wonder, and Intense Cynicism.
I don't know what you could make stick to Wal-Mart themselves. Possibly negligence, but if 200 people want to go somewhere, I don't see how they could be effectively stopped without riot police present.
My wife mentioned the Black Friday to me and said that she and her parents were staying in the whole day just to be safe.
ASVS('97)/SDN('03)
"Whilst human alchemists refer to the combustion triangle, some of their orcish counterparts see it as more of a hexagon: heat, fuel, air, laughter, screaming, fun." Dawn of the Dragons
Enigma wrote:My wife mentioned the Black Friday to me and said that she and her parents were staying in the whole day just to be safe.
You can still go to like, restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters and places like that. Assuming you can stomach the traffic. Just don't go to places that sell things that would make good gifts near opening time and you should be fine. But yes, it's really fucking stupid.
Enigma wrote:This is the country I'll be moving to?.
Well, as disgusting as this is, bear in mind that there's 310+ million people, and one guy got killed, and one shooting. These made the news precisely because they were outside the norm.
So it's fucked up, but there's also perspective.
Something about Libertarianism always bothered me. Then one day, I realized what it was:
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around! If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!! Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
I went to a Staples Black Friday sale this morning, but there were only about twenty to twenty-five people and everyone moved in an orderly fashion. But if it was a few hundred people, and in a store like Wal-mart I can see how it could be different.
My wife left the house at 3:45 AM!! for the annual consumer Running of the Bulls, but she stayed out of Wal-Mart altogether.
I'm saddened by this, but not surprised. What does surprise me is that there haven't been any reported fistfights or riots over super-duper-special-get-it-only-for-six-odd-minutes-at-5AM-5:11AM sale items.
The only people who were safe were the legion; after one of their AT-ATs got painted dayglo pink with scarlet go faster stripes, they identified the perpetrators and exacted revenge. - Eleventh Century Remnant
We are a despicable and worthless species. That's all.
Right, we should write off every single member of an entire species because of some yahoos at Wal-Mart.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver
"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.
I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
Jesus. Can you not just have some sort of "price for the week" rule aside from pricematching instead of this Dawn of the Dead scenario?
EBC|Fucking Metal|Artist|Androgynous Sexfiend|Gozer Kvltist|
Listen to my music! http://www.soundclick.com/nihilanth "America is, now, the most powerful and economically prosperous nation in the country." - Master of Ossus
