The night after Thanksgiving, known as ‘Black Friday’, can get pretty hectic for those scouring stores for the best deals on the most desired merchandise, but for some, that experience can be dangerous.
Shoppers at the Porter Ranch Wal-Mart in California’s San Fernando Valley say a woman fighting to get her hands on an Xbox or Wii gaming console began riddling people with pepper spray around 10 p.m., when the official sale was scheduled to begin.
In the melee, a reported 20 people, including children, were injured by the spray.
The Los Angeles Times spoke with shoppers injured or affected by the woman police say was “competitive shopping.”
Matthew Lopez, 18, who was hit by the spray, told the Times, ‘I heard screaming and I heard yelling. Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up.’
He described the scene, saying game displays were already torn down by the time he got there, and that employees were attempting to pick up merchandise while keeping the customers back.
Fellow shopper, Alejandra Seminario, 24, also spoke with the Times and said that while waiting to get to the toy section just before 10 p.m., people in the next row over were ripping apart the plastic wrap encasing the gaming consoles that were going to be opened in just a few minutes.
