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If you’re one of those people who thinks that queuing up outside a shop in the middle of a night to ensure you’re first in line for a sale the next morning is mental, then try this one for size.
Scenes of chaos gripped a US branch of Walmart on Friday after the commencement of the shop’s Black Friday sale lead to a furious stampede that resulted in one shopper pepper-spraying her ‘competitors’.
Walmart’s San Fernando Valley outlet was already rammed with consumers when a whistle was blown at 10pm to signify the beginning of the Black Friday deals.
Masses of people suddenly rushed the video games isle in hope of grabbing discounted games and consoles.
"People started screaming, pulling and pushing each other, and then the whole area filled up with pepper spray," one shopper told the LA Times.
"I guess what triggered it was people started pulling the plastic off the pallets and then shoving and bombarding the display of games. It started with people pushing and screaming because they were getting shoved onto the boxes."
The video games section itself was effectively destroyed, with displays being torn down as staff tried to restrain the frenzied crowd.
"I heard screaming and I heard yelling," another added having been set upon by one woman who attacked a handful of shoppers with a can of pepper spray.
"Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up."
Still, on the up side it wasn’t all bad news. "I don’t care. I’m still getting my TV. I’ve never seen Wal-Mart so crazy, but I guess it could have been worse,” 20 year old Nakeasha Contreras added.
