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5 Insane Acts Committed on Black Friday

Updated on January 14, 2015

Black Friday Crimes

There's something about Black Friday that brings out the animal in people. Like a tribe of bargain-hunting baboons we flock to every retail outlet in sight, trampling the elderly and hurling the young and weak aside like so much feces. Possibly also hurling feces. Here are just a few examples of people who prove that 75% discounts are far more important than human decency.

1. Woman pepper-sprays fellow shoppers over an Xbox

At a Porter Ranch, California Walmart in 2011, a woman patiently waited amid a crowd jockeying for discounted video game consoles. Seemingly not a fan of being jostled about and really determined to get her hands on one of the devices, she waited until she felt the time was right, then hosed down the throng with pepper spray. 10 people were injured in the incident, and the woman was able to collect her prize, pay for it, and leave before police arrived.

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2. Two people shot over a parking space

An argument over a parking space led to two people being shot and injured in the parking lot of a Tallahassee Walmart in 2012. Apparently, the couple was confronted by an individual after parking and an argument ensued, during which the assailant pulled a gun and opened fire. Police responded to a report of shots fired and found a man and woman injured. The shooter had already fled the scene. Thankfully, the couple made a full recovery.

3. Man takes 2-year old shopping, leaves the 2-year old

In 2012, a Massachusetts man left his girlfriend's 2-year old outside a K-Mart while he shopped for a 51-inch flat screen TV on Black Friday. When he finished, he was unable to find his car (and subsequently the child) so he did what any responsible adult would do and called for a ride home. Police were tipped off by store security and forced into the car to collect the child, who was sleeping in the man's car. Police took the toddler to the hospital as a precautionary measure.

Don't worry, the child was fine.

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4. Employee punched in the face over a GPS

Sometimes, crowd control just doesn't work the way it's supposed to. While one Walmart employee stocked discounted GPS units during a Walmart Black Friday event with the assistance of another employee (who was there solely to keep the crowd at bay), one member of the rather raucous crowd decided to express his displeasure by offering the "crowd control" employee a left hook to the jaw.

Do NOT cut in line!

At a Sears in Texas, an argument over line-cutting got a bit out of hand. When one shopper confronted another over skipping ahead, the allegation was answered with a punch to the face. The accuser in turn drew a pistol, bringing a quick end to the confrontation and scattering the crowd.

Black Friday Crime Facts

-Better than one in three American adults will go shopping this Black Friday

- Fraudulent returns cost companies billions during the holiday season. Some estimates for 2013 put the figure somewhere around 3 billion dollars.

-About 4,000 Walmart stores will implement increased security measures for Black Friday.

-Crime isn't limited to stores. Studies show that Black Friday and the weekend following Thanksgiving see increases in home and car burglaries as well, with crime rates in general increasing dramatically.

Author's Note

There are plenty of other stories out there on the web, including a few famous ones that I've chosen not to include because I consider them to be exceedingly tragic and do not want to make light of it. In all likelihood I'll wind up adding to this list after this year's Black Friday, but it's become sort of my MO to keep things short and concise.

I hope you enjoyed yourselves reading this far, and as always feel free to track me down on Facebook, or visit my home page for more information you didn't know you needed.

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