Wal-Mart Worker Trampled To Death on Black Friday

1. Edward
   November 29th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

   "If that’s not bad enough, even after being told that someone was killed, they kept on shopping!"

   The whole point was to slow up the competition. It was a shame that the old guy I tripped got killed by some idiots behind me, but, hey, I saved $50 on that Xbox.

2. TwoDragons
   November 29th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

   I read this story several times and it still makes me sick to my stomach. No bargain is worth trampling people for.

   "For what does it profit a man, that he gain the world but lose his soul?" Matthew 16:26

   --TwoDragons

3. Ali S.
   November 29th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

   This makes me angry. This is the type of thing that makes you wish the cops will arrest everyone who walked first through that door and convicted of manslaughter. Then get Walmart to explain why they didn't have any setup to control the crowd and why so few staff were there at the door. A little foresight and a little compassion by those consumers would've saved that mans life.

4. Lindsay
   November 29th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

   I speak with residents of NJ & NY on a daily basis, and it doesn't surprise me that this has happened. They are rude and hateful and it is an absolute shame they could care less about another human being's life. Pathetic.

5. Woogie
   November 29th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

   Every single one of them should be charged with manslaughter.

6. Geekazoid
   November 29th, 2008 at 3:19 pm

   And people wonder why the world has such a negative view of America. People in this world do not have food to eat or even money to put shelter over their kid's heads. And they read about Americans trampling and shooting and killing each other for material goods. Shame, shame, shame, who are we as a nation to judge the morality, lifestyle, religion, or character of other nations (hangs head in shame).

7. LisaL
   November 29th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

   Every single person who trampled that poor man needs to be arrested. That Walmart should've been shut down immedietly.
   I don't blame the Walmart. How on earth were they supposed to know stupid ass soulless morons would do something like that.
   I've read this story in several places and it makes me angrier every time I do.

8. scottlass
   November 29th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

   l hope they are able to prosecute this mans murderers, but out of respect for their employee, Walmart should have closed for the day, and nothing should have been sold to the mongrels that killed him. All they did was reward horrific behavior. I hope that this mans family sues Walmart for far more than was earned in profits that day. I also hope that the employees that had to sit there and watch their coworker die are compensated for their trauma as well. I don't think this has anything to do with NY. This could have happened anywhere.

9. Jill Harness
   November 29th, 2008 at 3:50 pm

   Don't forget the two guys who shot each other at a Toys R Us when their girlfriends started fighting over a toy

10. eh
    November 29th, 2008 at 3:56 pm

    did you see the video? look at them hoarding in masses, foaming at the mouth just for a discount on cheap made-in-china particle board CRAP. look at them in the video. they are not people. they are savages who value cheap crap more than human life. they should all have been locked in the store and charged with manslaughter. each and every one of them. greedy, slothful disgusting pieces of shit. WHY IS NO ONE BEING HEALD ACCOUNTABLE?

11. Cordelia
    November 29th, 2008 at 4:04 pm

    This is so disgusting. How pathetic that a camera or TV or whatever means more to these people than a human life. And that they complained when told the store was shutting down because they had waited outside - repulsive beyond words. Walmart shouldn't have checked anyone out and should have shut down for the day. I hope they can somehow identify the people who killed him via the security tapes and let them rot in jail for the rest of their lives. Maybe the securoty guards got the license plates of everyone in the parking lot? I hope so.

    Lindsay, it makes absolutely no sense to condemn all of NJ and NY. I'm from NYC and there are just as many good people there as anywhere else. It's the mentality and depravity of the specific group that was at that Walmart that's to blame - not an entire region.

12. Jules
    November 29th, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    This is sickening. Does buying something first matter more than someone's life? Apparently for these people getting an early Christmas present or a bargain matter much more.

    Something has to be done to prevent this from happening again.

    Auto-Door openers, discourage morning rushes, something.

13. AD PR New York
    November 29th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

    One of our colleagues use to live a few block away from that area - this is not the first time those shoppers have been extremely aggressive during the holidays - it is only because of this tragedy that this is getting any attention.

    Those doors should have been monitored by a team of licensed Security Guards

14. sadtomato
    November 29th, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    Geekazoid, my thoughts exactly!

15. Pudifoot
    November 29th, 2008 at 5:37 pm

    Geekazoid: Yeah! Americans should just strap bombs to themselves and blow up schools and such. That is so much better.

16. Bob Smythe
    November 29th, 2008 at 5:41 pm

    Are they black Friday shoppers or "Black Friday" shoppers? Everyone interviewed on CNN is "African-American". Just trying to clarify.

17. quinnnchick
    November 29th, 2008 at 7:21 pm

    I watched the video. ems did a great job trying to keep this man/bring him back to life while in the background you hear people laughing and then complaining that nobody was doing mouth to mouth.

    Has nobody heard of the new CPR?

18. MarcBee
    November 29th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    sick sick sick
    consumer whores

19. DOJ
    November 29th, 2008 at 9:36 pm

    How is the stampede approach to Black Friday beneficial to the store? Do they teach it in Business School?

20. Bruno
    November 29th, 2008 at 10:13 pm

    This is what happens when a life's worth is measured in terms of what objects one owns. It is the face of greed.

    The sad fact remains however, that the people who killed that poor soul, have been conditioned by the media to behave this way since birth. Consumer Pigs run rampant.

21. Johnny Cat
    November 29th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    @quinnnchick

    Yeah, that video was first of all, not a video of the stampede, but secondly, filled with the kind of gutless commentary I equate with those who feel like documentarians just because they have a cameraphone. "Nobody wanna touch his lips." Gimme a break. And while your at it, try to actually get the subject in the frame, not that guy's GoreTex jacket.

    Muggle.

22. Christophe
    November 29th, 2008 at 10:33 pm

    I believe that it's not about WalMart, or America, or Consumer society : it's plain and simple human behaviour. We're animals and we would fight for something we want. Only progress made that fight humane. Sometimes adrenaline makes us forget about the rules we were taught.

    Another interesting point in this post is the video : with the generalization of cam-cellphones, the Global Village is thriving. Sad, but amazing video.

23. anonymous commenter
    November 29th, 2008 at 11:11 pm

    Your culture is sick, your empire is dying.

24. raina_c
    November 29th, 2008 at 11:11 pm

    Disgusting! They need a better system they shouldn't just open up the doors to these no life bargain hunters...they need to keep the mob in lines or do away with this nonsense.

25. qwhacker
    November 29th, 2008 at 11:45 pm

    didn't something similar happen at a walmart last year on black friday?

26. Geekazoid
    November 30th, 2008 at 12:02 am

    Thanks sadtomato. And pudifoot, Americans don't strap themselves with explosives, they rig rental trucks with amonium nitrate and target office buildings filled with innocent men, women, and preschool children. Not to mention that the U.S. military does most of our dirty work, launching air strikes left and right in foreign countries and never ever, I mean ever, killing innocent civilians, only terrorists and jihadists (ya right).

    But I digress, I have to respectfully disagree with Christophe, this is indicative of a problem with American consumer and greed oriented culture encouraged by the likes of wal mart and other corporations. I'm not badmouthing my America yet at the same time I'm not viewing it through rose colored glasses and think other cultures are beneath us. Certainly there are other countries that are consumer driven but can anyone prove to me that it approaches anywhere near the level of insanity in America? Where else do you see people act like animals in wanting goods they can't even afford. When you read about riots in other countries it usually involves shortage of food, or crime, or government, or things that, you know, truly make a difference between life and death, not a 42 inch plasma screen t.v. Rioting and fighting and killing over a nintendo or a tickle me elmo is definitely not a natural part of human nature, certainly not a part of what's supposed to be the most 'advanced' and 'progressive' nations in the world.

    And this kind of behavior is hardly recent, growing up in the early 80's and all those toy fads and crazes, shoppers were as ruthless and violent back then as now. I think it is rather pure luck that more people have not died all these years.

27. ted
    November 30th, 2008 at 12:29 am

    Can't blame the USA or consumerism. People everywhere can be rude, selfish, and uncaring. Maybe companies need to stop these crazy types of sales.

28. Johnny Cat
    November 30th, 2008 at 12:43 am

    Well, then mayhap the companies have these crazy sales because they know something newsworthy will come of it. They have this tradition, this very American tradition, of slashing prices on limited supply the "day after thanksgiving", and call it profit. The problem is too many people line up, jostling for position, et al, and you have this insanity happening. This whole thing should be re-thought. I Can Has Consumersorsing?

29. dogrun81
    November 30th, 2008 at 12:49 am

    Why were people allowed to leave the store? They would have had all the witnesses they needed, and the animals who did this could be identified.

    In Michigan, we actually form orderly lines to get in to the store. Apparently these shoppers are too stupid.

    From a different Wal-Mart, I saw an interview with a mother complaining that the store was out of the mp3 player she wanted. She started complaining that because the economy is so bad, she had to have bargains to meet her kids' "needs".

    Yes, I have heard all about those poor kids around the world who have to go without mp3 players. What an idiot.

30. Johnny Cat
    November 30th, 2008 at 12:58 am

    We can learn from this stupidity.

31. Catsvillage
    November 30th, 2008 at 1:28 am

    this is horrible, those families are suffering. I say this is a result of santa crap... instead of celebrating the birth of Jesus (CHRISTmas) the world, western esp, has been tempted into the greedy, evil side of life - a thing means more than a life.

    I send prayers and love to the family and loved ones.
    for others, get back to the true meaning of CHRISTmas... celebrate the true gift of salvation.

    for those who don't believe, give time and effort to your family instead of things, or give to others who don't have, they are in your own community, in other countries, maybe in your own family.

    bless the world.

32. Evilbeagle
    November 30th, 2008 at 6:24 am

    It's called mob mentality and it is not exclusive to Americans. People who have probably never even been to America look for any excuse to bash Americans but believe it or not, Americans aren't all rude, materialistic, gluttons.

    Either way, this whole thing is sick, sad, and I agree that everyone in that stampede should be arrested and charged. There is no excuse for this sort of behavior anywhere in the world.

33. Aaron
    November 30th, 2008 at 11:47 am

    This is nuts, and I agree with Evilbeagle that it's not an exclusively American thing. People everywhere are nuts.

    When I read this story back on Friday, it made me re-think the whole Christmas tradition of buying cheap crap and foisting it off on family and friends. What about making people meals, or something? Or making donations in friend's names to charity? (Of course I say this as a guy who bought his girlfriend an iPod and some DVDs.)

    I understand people want a bargain but...

    As for the Toys R Us thing, I am as big a gun nut as the next Southern white male, but why was anybody in a toy store with their loaded gun??

34. Noelegy
    November 30th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    My mother told me a rather amazing story yesterday. She said that she was talking to someone at the store, who told her that her daughter was shopping on Black Friday and had picked out the last XBOX. Another woman came up to her and took it right out of her hands. The mother (the one who told my mom this story) went up to the grabber and said, "Excuse me. That is not acceptable," and took it back. No violence ensued.

    This took place in Texas, by the way, y'all.

35. The Slapster
    November 30th, 2008 at 3:20 pm

    @Aaron: That shooting wasn't related to a shopping argument, just a good old fashioned shoot-out over an argument their spouses started with each other. Thank goodness the holiday spirit remains intact for that community eh?

36. Emmie
    November 30th, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    This really makes me doubt the goodness of human nature.

37. Emmie
    November 30th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

    "“If that’s not bad enough, even after being told that someone was killed, they kept on shopping!”

    The whole point was to slow up the competition. It was a shame that the old guy I tripped got killed by some idiots behind me, but, hey, I saved $50 on that Xbox."

    ...so if you saved $50 on a gaming console, that's all that matters to you, and these people are just 'idiots'? They're more that that - it's just plain evil and you aren't any better. You have to at least show some respect for this man. He was a person with a family, goals, and most importantly, a life. Now it's ruined because some insane people want to get good deals on materialistic things.

    How can you go about shopping knowing that an employee has just been killed? Sickening.

38. Dave
    November 30th, 2008 at 11:30 pm

    Shameful. Hard to understand the people who so callously laughed off the death of that man and had the gall to complain about the delay in their shopping.

    But in a way it's very understandable, and not just limited to the US. I saw similar feeding frenzies while visiting Africa, among little kids no less. They nearly trampled me and other kids trying to get candy. Greed does awful things to people, no matter where they are.

39. Jbot
    November 30th, 2008 at 11:52 pm

    it was just one man who died, but it was one man, one man who's life mattered a lot,just like everyone else's, but it mattered a lot more than anything material, and its not just the U.S.A that does that, other countries do too, humans aren't perfect, otherwise a lot of bad things wouldn't of happened.

40. LisaL
    December 1st, 2008 at 8:35 am

    I have to also say that it's not just Americans and I'm sick and tired of people spewing that kind of ignorant hate out there.
    We went to Italy last year, and believe me, we saw our fair share of rude, crazy freakin Italians. Same when we went to France, same when we went to Germany.

    Anyway... after saying that, we really need to stop this Black Friday BS.

41. Ruzanna
    December 1st, 2008 at 11:40 am

    he had his right to live. no one is authorized to decide whether it was time for him to die or no.

42. CR
    December 1st, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    Lindsay, Please. Do you really think this is about the residents of NY and NJ? This is mob mentality. A mentality that is completely used to get us all riled up about sales. How many times is the word madness, mayhem, or crazy used in advertising? Advertisers want people to get out of their heads about things. They want us to go rushing into stores. I'm sure they don't want us to kill each other, but they are playing on those drives.

    We should just stop listening. And I say WE, because this is our society. The world is our society, and we should quit pointing fingers and start saying no to letting this kind of BS run our lives.

    I don't care where you live, you are part of this grand society as well. We are all to blame. If you want to get a look at the roots of this kind of behavior and why it's been coming for a while, read this:

    http://theniftythrifty.blogspot.com/2008/01/stuff-cant-live-with-it-ca nt-throw-it.html

43. CR
    December 1st, 2008 at 6:16 pm

    http://theniftythrifty.blogspot.com/

44. michaleme
    December 2nd, 2008 at 11:20 am

    "Link (with video tape of the stampede)"

    Thank got we've some pictures of the poor guy dying. Isn't it nice to watch that video and get upset about it? Okay, the viewpoint isn't exactly the best one, it would have been better to see a closeup of him. Maybe there would have been even some blood visible?

    Sarcastic? Why, thats just the everyday-capitalism you do all the time over there in gods own country.
    Have fun, greetings from a part pf the world where we don't die from shopping people...

45. Whale
    December 2nd, 2008 at 4:40 pm

    Poor Guy, just shows you how little black people care about anything but THEMSELVES!! I hope you POS's are REAAAL happy. A-Holes..

46. Marcus Dewalt
    December 3rd, 2008 at 5:08 pm

    The only people responsible for this tragedy, are the filthy, worthless greedy animals lined up at the front door. But the family of the victim are to stupid and lazy to blame the party(parties) responsible. they are typical trash just lookin for cash.

47. vero4902
    December 5th, 2008 at 10:41 pm

    Sick, sad, disgusting. There's just no reason for that - to save a few bucks? Please... those people should be ashamed and held responsible.

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