Man Dies After Wal-Mart Stampede

Throng Of Unruly Black Friday Bargain-Hunters Knock Down Door, Killing Man

(CBS/AP)  A worker died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers when a suburban Wal-Mart opened for the holiday sales rush Friday, authorities said.

At least three other people were injured.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Ark., would not confirm the reports of a stampede but said a "medical emergency" had caused the company to close the store, which is in Valley Stream on Long Island.

Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., an hour after the store opened. The cause of death was not immediately known.

A police statement said shortly after 5 a.m., a throng of shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground." Police also said a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation and three other shoppers suffered minor injuries and were also taken to hospitals.

The exact cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s office, detectives said.

The dead worker's name was not released.

"Local authorities are looking into the situation," said Wal-Mart representative Dan Fogleman. But he said it would be "inappropriate for me to share any additional information" until authorities investigate further.

Also, in Missouri, a vehicle hit two Black Friday shoppers, according to KCTV. It wasn't clear how badly they were hurt, but both of the victims were alert when police arrived. Read more.

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. The Valley Stream Wal-Mart usually opens at 9 a.m.

[pollroller1]

This is one of the the reasons I shop on line.

[mrmeatspin]

that to actually happen ......is pretty disturbing..

[denn034]

Uh, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[MIpapaof4]

Everything at Wal Mart comes from China. These people are ignorant.

[blackyowe]

Disturbing is not strong enough a word! Are we cattle? This is sick!

[tooshie11300]

these people are disgusting!! trampling people for a bargain my god what is the world coming to?

[auscross1277]

Just to save a few bucks... moronic people line up in droves like cattle and thus start acting like animals... I hope anyone involved at the front of that line faces criminal charges! People are so stupid... wait a few days and shop,... it will only be a few bucks more for whatever it is you want...

[auscross1277]

Everything at Wal Mart comes from China. These people are ignorant.
Posted by MIpapaof4 at 12:53 PM : Nov 28, 2008
*** how very right you are! Anyone that shops at walmart is also responsible for the bad economy... Anything you buy at Walmart, is one less thing that could have been sold at a mom and pop store... plus the money you make not only goes to China, but to the Walmart Executives, you then take some of that profit and give it to the republican party... talk about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer

[hatesthecolt]

On top of the fact that Walmart buys from China at the expense of US goods, it also provides no benefits so the injured employees will be on their own unless they have other health care. There will be no death benefits for the killed worker. And the owners, some of the richest people in the world, give almost nothing to charity. What''s to like or support about Walmart: NOTHING. PLEASE consider shopping anywhere else this holiday season.

[cattiej]

The person who was using their cellphone to record this...I hope the workers family can use it to sue the heck out of Walmart, and arrest the women heard laughing in this video for conduct unbecoming a human being. As a retired nurse, I looked at this video several times and the people around the man injured/dead, we just walking around doing nothing. They should have gotten the crowd back, people in the crowd should have left the area, what a sick bunch of glutton''s we are. These situations are one of the reason that Americans are thought of as greedy, immoral people. This is Walmart and all the other retail stores fault for the way they get some people (fools that they are) all excited about "Black Friday Sales"...well, this sale caused this man to loose his life...can his family go out and get another son or husband....Nooooo....Merry Christmas to all the stupid people who stood around "just to watch". What goes around, comes around...it may be your turn next.

[be_real]

LONG ISLAND THE NEW OLD SOUTH. THE NEW $HIT HOLE.

[rosestha]

what a stupid woman who was pregnant. Didnt she ever think of the coming baby? She could have been killed heself or someone could have hurt the baby.. Irresponsible woman.

[rosestha]

whats so funny ? Who was laughing behind. Brainless woman was laughing. Family should take this VDO and sue walmart.

[nolalou]

what a stupid woman who was pregnant. Didnt she ever think of the coming baby? She could have been killed heself or someone could have hurt the baby.. Irresponsible woman.

Posted by Rosestha

What are you saying , that pregnant women shouldn''t shop? Are you f-ing NUTS! There is nothing in this story that indicates she did anything wrong! She could have just got caught up in the mob! If she was guilty of helping to break the doors down that''s one thing, but we don''t know that. What''s Irresponsible is IDIOTS like you jumping to conclusions!

[nordeck52]

Everything at Wal Mart comes from China. These people are ignorant.
Posted by MIpapaof4 at 12:53 PM : Nov 28, 2008

Yep, and many of the things sold in Walmart were made in the Laogai labor camps.

This video is a perfect example of why I refuse to enter a store on Black Friday. These crazy idiot shoppers are a blight!

[msobamaishot]

So the price of bargains and cheap goods costs one man his life in a "stampede" at Walmart...despicable. What are we, animals?

[nordeck52]

what a stupid woman who was pregnant. Didnt she ever think of the coming baby? She could have been killed heself or someone could have hurt the baby.. Irresponsible woman.

Posted by Rosestha at 01:09 PM : Nov 28, 2008


By your argument, pregnant women should never go shopping. So how are they supposed to get stuff for their soon-to-be-arriving baby, if shopping is irresponsible? Your argument makes no sense.

[mrfoxy60]

Walmart had nothing to do with this behavior. This is called desperation and this is what results when people dont care and have nothing to lose.

[richnj1]

On top of the fact that Walmart buys from China at the expense of US goods, it also provides no benefits so the injured employees will be on their own unless they have other health care. There will be no death benefits for the killed worker. -- Posted by hatesthecolt at 01:00 PM : Nov 28, 2008

This is not a defense of WalMart per se, but a factual correction: employers must have workers compensation insurance. As this is obviously a work-related death, death benefits under workers comp will be payable.

Overall, is this really WalMart''s fault? I am not defending their business practices, but this is about the mob of shoppers, not the store. Advertising a sale should not spur a stampede.

[solarrays247-2009]

So the price of bargains and cheap goods costs one man his life in a "stampede" at Walmart...despicable. What are we, animals?

Posted by msobamaishot at 01:18 PM : Nov 28, 2008

Please don''t insult animals!

[credibility2]

Senseless tragedy. Greedy, thoughtless and immoral shoppers who only cared about themselves and grabbing a sale item they probably didn''t need helped to kill this man and gave absolutely no thought whatsoever to their actions in rushing the store and trampling on this man. They should track down those responsible and charge them with involuntary manslaughter or second degree murder.

[dewiecheatem]

Freakin animals!!!!!!!!! whats up with idiots who value garbage gifts more than a human life?

[wallyj16]

What the media didn''''t tell you is that this Valley Stream Walmart has a large African American Population and many of these thugs just skip the lines altogether and bum-rush inside the store. I went to a Circuit city near that area and a similar situation last year when they push down the doors. I went to a different Circuit in a non-black neighborhood this year and things are actually orderly.


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Posted by pug_ster at 01:02 PM : Nov 28, 2008
+ report abuse
Thanks for the "investigative journlism" pug_ster. Your deep insighted judgemnts aren''t helpful. Especially when you don''t bother to look at the root cause of this tragedy. Maybe there is an economic issue in this country that leaves people pressured to do things they normally wouldn''t do. Save us yur shallow insight. Or maybe you can redeem your comments by doing some study on economic conditions in the inner cities in our country.

[dnlady]

This is for the women who apparently thinks pregnant women are quilty of shopping. You are a complete idiot. The cause of this was not her! It was the blood sucking scumbags around this area who wouldnt do a *** thing,but laugh.If shopping while pregnant is a crime,sales at walmart would be too.THANK YOU,APRIL BARTLETT

[gce65]

WalMart is not safe!

They promote behavior and tragedies like this by hyping the shopping experience into a near-frenzy.

The family of this worker will no doubt have to settle--and probably not disclose the terms--because they''ll be up against WalMart''s team of corporate lawyers.

Who''d have thought the Blue Light Special would be an emergency siren...

Sickening!

[dewiecheatem]

Hey all..I dont care where you were brought up under what conditions and if your black or white...to act like this is no excuse to trample someone. Obviously these morons were never taught the value of a life.

[bigscruffy1]

If this isn''t a wake up call to the over commercialization i don''t know what is. Save your money nobody really needs one more useless hunk of junk. Spend your time with family and friends!

[ybotheratall]

Notice they said "black". That is the operative word. In CIVILIZED society, that sort of thing doesn''t happen. Animals.

[sking72]

As a black man I''m sick of seeing members of our community act like animals. Guess what my brothers getting the latest electronic gadget 5 dollars off is not worth killing one of our own. But you don''t care about that do you! You people may be working poor but y''all are greedier than Donald Trump!

[earache4]

sheeple..."baaah"

[vcofreason]

Blacks wonder why we say the things we do about them. Listening to those black females laughing. I would have tears down my face, asking if there was anything I could do to help and I certainly wouldn''t be taking a video. Shame on CBS for even showing a video of a dying man. Imagine how his family would feel watching that? Such disrespect. Sickening world we live in. Walmart is a cesspool of scum.

[iswanny11]

I know times are hard everywhere, but people have turned into a bunch of ignorant, arrogant, self centered, its all about me animals. I hope a video camera was recording the first ones in the door, and hope that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I never shop on black friday. I did it one time and the crowds were so out of control that I said never again and that was it for me. My heart goes out to this store workers family. It is just a senseless waste when a person just trying to make a living has to be killed by pure ignorance. Take note people, the world IS coming to an end and it won''t be much longer!

[lindh4]

Well, I don''t know about this.. birds are animals and I''ve never heard of a flock of birds knocking down a door and hurting anyone. Oh sure, sometimes a herd of cowbirds will stampede but everyone expects that and gets out of the way.

[hatesthecolt]

Can we please get OFF the racism bandwagon. The REASON they are misbehaving is because they are ignorant and immoral REGARDLESS OF THEIR RACE. It has NOTHING to do with skin color and denigrates those blacks who are NOT like this.

[omded]

Wow!

They must have had some pretty nice specials at that store. This reminds me of fishing. You chum up the water with sardines, and try to get the tuna into a feeding frenzy. Sounds like these people are a lot like a school of tuna. Same intelligence level too.

From now on, American Universities will need to teach their marketing students to think of their customers as a big school of tuna.

I can see this now: a bunch of crazy people saying "get out of my way! I''m going to get me one of those Cabbage Patch Kid Dolls before they run out!!!" What''s the gotta-have item this year?

[notananimal]

To all you who want to condemn Walmart and "Americans" as whole for this insanity. At 5am Eastern this morning I was sleeping, as was MOST Americans! I did not trample a Walmart worker, nor did you. I will not take responsibility for what a bunch of idiotic uncaring people did. I did not breakdown the doors and step on or otherwise smoother an innocent man, NOR DID YOU. Stop taking the blame for other peoples actions. The only responsibity Walmart has in this, is it''s duty to press charges against the ingrates who did this to their employee, nothing else!

[slim1h2o]

What''''s the gotta-have item this year?

Posted by omded at 02:03 PM : Nov 28, 2008

Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money,

Gotta have it!!

Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed, Greed,

Won''t let me live without it!!

[shanev137]

What could be that important at Wal-Mart to trample someone over?

I mean if it was Saks, Neimans or Nordstroms I could understand.

[sandy19731]

The idea of Black Friday where retailers advertise very low prices but only stock a few of the items is a recipe for disaster. They ought to have to give out rain checks.

[earache4]

Such a fuss over Chinese made lead laced toys....

[likenoone-2009]

The start of the sorry state of America

[walt1944-2009]

When are consumers ever going to learn that there is NO SUCH THING as a SALE!!!!

Does anyone in this age of unchecked corporate greed and "I Cheat ''em and How" neocon economics, really think that a store is going to sell something AT A LOSS, unless they really want to get rid of it or it''s a pile of junk???

My parents owned a "ma & pa" grocery store and my dad taught me all the tricks retailers use to put something on "SALE" and still make a profit on it. He told me that there is a magic about the word "SALE" that causes shoppers to think they are getting a "break".

The only "break" they get is when they discover how "broke" they are and how little they got for buying things "ON SALE"!!!!

Us consumers will never learn!!!

SIG HEIL, GREED IS GOOD!!!, BUSH!!!

[omded]

What''s the gotta have item this year?

Anything but thos "Tickle Me Elmo" dolls. If they''d stampeded this man just to get to the "Tickle Me Elmo" section before the shelves were empty, I''d puke my lunch.

I remember wayyyyy back when it was the "Pet Rock". Somebody sure got rich on that one! All they did was go out in the back yard and collect a bunch of rocks and put them in a cute little box. Of course, I don''t remember anyone getting trampled to death for a Pet Rock. But I''ll bet there are a lot of discarded little rocks in back yards all over America right now!

[jydavis1]

gives "shop till you drop" new meaning -- go forth Amerika, swiftly and deeper into the consumer void - enjoy your pretend happiness ! ... shop our fake economy back into false prosperity - your myth-based god commands you to do so - the credit card He bestowed upon you must be used or you are destined for an eternity in hell ! Beat the devil and shop ! That''s the true meaning of christMAS .. sayeth the lord

[hatesthecolt]

The only responsibity Walmart has in this, is it''''s duty to press charges against the ingrates who did this to their employee, nothing else!

Posted by notananimal

You are correct that Walmart did not cause this event. However, it is also true that Walmart is not a healthy or beneficial corporation and I''d love to see go out of business and if I have anyone''s attention on this site who goes to Walmart and who hasn''t seen the documentary on them, I am going to use the opportunity to spread the word.

[gce65]

Blah, blah, blah...The only responsibity Walmart has in this, is it''s duty to press charges against the ingrates who did this to their employee, nothing else!

Posted by notananimal at 02:06 PM : Nov 28, 2008

Wrong! Crowd control is the responsibility of the vendor, just like it is for a rock concert promoter when this happens at rock concert.
Walmart failed to control their crowd, which had queued up outside their store after seeing thier advertisements for the Day After Thxgiving super sale, or whatever they called it.
Corporate responsibility. It''s almost non-existent these days.

[hatesthecolt]

The only responsibity Walmart has in this, is it''''s duty to press charges against the ingrates who did this to their employee, nothing else!

Posted by notananimal

You are correct that Walmart did not have a role in this tragedy; however, Walmart is still a poor excuse for an employer and its owners are hypocrites to boot. so if I have the attention here of anyone who shops there and has not seen the Walmart documentary, I am going to take advantage of the opportunity to spread the word and so, probably, are others. They ought to have to clean up their act. They don''t get a free pass just because no one publicizes their wrongdoing.

[dburfears]

People were laughing in the background of the recording. I wonder what they thought was so funny? Just sick.

[americankdl]

Some of you need some history lessons. This makes me sick to my stomach. Another reason to stay away from there and shop around the Roosevelt Field Mall area instead.

http://www.nationalblackrepublicans.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.main&x=9435695

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

[markavelli2]

""e idea of Black Friday where retailers advertise very low prices but only stock a few of the items is a recipe for disaster. They ought to have to give out rain checks.""

Great idea, lets impose regulation upon blackfriday retailers. Lets see how many stores actually give out bargains after that.