Wal-Mart Shuts Down Upland, California, Store: Hundreds Inside; FIGHTING BREAKS OUT as Mob Tears Open Shrink-Wrapped Merchandise!

I need to update my earlier report, "Black Friday Launches Amid Consumer Retreat: Green Groups Seek to Shut Down Shopping; Wall Street Eyes Markets!"

My wife slept in late, having been out in the wee hours of the morning to scope out deals. My wife and son decided to skip Toys-R-Us a long line of customers went around to the Best Buy store down the lot. Toys-R-Us had security patrolling out front, and store personnel were allowing about 30 customers in at a time -- then doors were locked until the next batch of bargain-hunters were admitted.

It's not fun waiting out front, but at least Toys-R-Us had a workable plan. Perhaps not so much at Wal-Mart, where fighting broke out in Upland as crowds went totally barbarian in the hunt for sales. From the Los Angeles Times, "Black Friday: Wal-Mart in Upland Temporarily Closes After 'Fighting Inside'":

Black Friday brought out the rowdy side of Wal-Mart shoppers early this morning when the Upland location shut down for more than two hours after customers caused a ruckus inside.

Store management called Upland police at 2:44 a.m., asking for assistance in dealing with customers who were “fighting inside,” said Lt. Jim Etchason.

About 300 people were in the store, which had remained open all night as a security precaution after a Wal-Mart worker on Long Island, N.Y., was trampled to death last year on Black Friday when a surging, impatient crowd rushed the doors after the store opened.

But in Upland, employees said, customers began tearing into merchandise that had been shrink-wrapped and were supposed to be opened at 5 a.m.

“This was without a doubt the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said one employee, who said she has worked a dozen Black Fridays.

“They wouldn’t let people line up,” she added. “They were belligerent. They just bombarded the store.”

More at the link.