WalMart Wars: Black Friday Bomb Threats, Shootings, Stunnings, and Sprayings

Reports from across the country show that a disproportionate number of arrests, fights, shootings, and other acts of Black Friday violence occurred at WalMarts. The following is a list of most -- but probably not all -- of the incidents that occurred at stores belonging to the world's largest retailer.

Black Friday 2011 sales events were marred nationwide at WalMart stores by reported acts of violence, threats of violence, police interventions and arrests. Although WalMart does not have a monopoly on the occurrences, they do seem to have more than their fair share. The giant retailer operates over 3800 stores nationwide, not to mention 600 Sam's Club locations, and its annual Black Friday sales events have become traditional. Unfortunately, so has the violence. On the brighter side, however, although there were a number of bomb threats, shootings, stunnings, and sprayings, nobody was killed.

This year. With increased security and remaining open, WalMart escaped repeating the conditions that resulted in the trampling death of a temp security guard in Long Island, N. Y., in 2008.

To alleviate the press of crowds, WalMart was one of the nation's retailers that not only spaced out their doorbuster sales, they also started their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving night.

And the manic rush to get sales items at discounted prices still led to this:

Bomb Threats Hit Home:

Three WalMarts in three states -- Colorado, Missouri, and Arkansas (in the chain's home town of Bentonville) -- received bomb threats, according to USA Today.

Black Friday Shootings On Both Coasts:

In a WalMart parking lot in San Leandro, Calif., a man was taken to the hospital after being critically wounded in a shooting incident when he and his family were confronted by four individuals demanding they turn over their new purchases. The Los Angeles Times reported that a scuffle ensued when the demand was not met. One of the accosters drew a gun and the man was shot. One suspect, not the gunman, was wrestled to the ground by the man's family members and detained for arrest. The man was later treated and reportedly in stable (but critical) condition.

Across the country in Myrtle Beach, S. C., a woman was shot in the leg as she and her male companion exited a WalMart. The man was slugged in the head before the woman was shot. The attackers ran off after another Black Friday shopper brandished a firearm.

Stunned and Tasered, Subdued and Arrested:

In Milford, Conn., police were forced to stun a male customer and arrest him after an assault took place at the store's electronics department. The man was in line to buy video games.

Also in Connecticut (Southington), a 32-year-old man was tased when he cut line ahead of about 20 people at a checkout stand and subsequently refused to return to his former position in line. He then resisted police efforts to detain him for breaking the peace. He was subsequently tased and arrested.

An unruly man was tasered and arrested by police in Florence, Ala., for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. The man reportedly had to be tased twice to get him under control.

Pepper Sprayed -- From Customers And Security Alike:

In Porter Ranch, Calif., a woman trying to reach a stack of XBoxes ahead of her fellow customers resorted to pepper spraying them to gain an advantage. She was arrested after she turned herself in. She had pepper sprayed as many as 20 people; 15 reportedly were treated by local fire department personnel.

An off-duty police officer working Black Friday security in Kinston, N. C., pepper sprayed a crowd of people scuffling while trying to secure discounted smartphones. According to CNN, the incident resulted in one person was arrested.

More Black Friday Violence: Fighting, Rough-Ups, More Arrests, and The Obligatory Annual Trampling:

After a brawl in an electronics department in a Rome, N. Y., WalMart, two women were hospitalized and a man arrested.

Another man was arrested in Kissimmee, Fla., after a fight broke out at the jewelry counter.

In a Phoenix store, a 54-year-old grandfather was roughed up by police when they mistakenly subdued him for stealing. The man later explained that he had placed an item in his waistband so as to free his hands and get at more sales merchandise.

In what has become a WalMart tradition, a teen was trampled in Muskegon, Mich. His injuries were reportedly minor.

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There is little doubt that as long as retailers like WalMart continue to offer sales bargains in order to entice shoppers out on Black Friday, the masses yearning to be the proud owners of certain discounted items will arrive, some ready to commit violence against their fellow Black Friday shoppers. And as the sales get earlier and earlier, it would appear that instead of alleviating the mania and the customer crushes, retailers like WalMart are only expanding the time in which the violence can -- and apparently inevitably -- will occur.

(photo credit: Dustin, Creative Commons)

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