Black Friday is dubbed as the busiest shopping day of the year, and it is also the biggest day for gun sales. But before shopping ends, Black Friday is also the day when unexpected hauls, brawls and crimes happen.
As Black Friday is so popular in America, the same scenario is often expected in UK. On Black Friday, the UK police officers came to go in between series of riots in retailer shops, where one woman was hurt because of a fight over a big HD TV at the Tesco Extra in Stretford.
This woman just won #BlackFriday in the UK https://t.co/ID5rkY3Zhm @dkaszor @noahlove @HuffPostUK pic.twitter.com/Bwyj26Y1Eq
— James Martin (@ByJamesMartin) November 28, 2014
Since hordes of people are expected to jam-packed malls and supermarkets, UK officer Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, criticized shop owners for not controlling the crowd by securing enough security on the day.
As a result, several a numbers of supermarkets were closed in some hours in the morning of Black Friday when the UK authorities responded to the scene to manage the unstoppable crowd.
The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police said that it is disappointing to see that just for simple disputes in the stores they have to get in and stop the angry shoppers, which could be manageable in the store level. Disorders had been spread out in the whole Manchester on Black Friday.
Several Tesco Stores across UK were shutdown for some time due to overcrowding and chaos in the area. There were reported stampedes, browls and even fights just for simple lingerie and undies. In Tesco Burnage, a 42-year-old man was seized for assault while a man was also arrested in Tesco Woodrow Way, Salford for threatening a Tesco staff.
Some incidents on Black Friday were the repeated brawls over items that they wanted to get for themselves. In the U.S., as frenzied shoppers get excited to get their items, violence is a common scene in the stores. Before Black Friday, reported shootings, arrest and assaults were filed as early as Thursday night. A hashtag on Twitter #WalmartFights was even popularized.
Oh, It's #BlackFriday time to send out the military to take care of the craziness. #Walmart #WalmartFights #BF pic.twitter.com/PNkzAcwQDU — John V Mud$lide (@Mudslide89) November 30, 2013
Walmart rage is a common scene every Black Friday. Often the rage is about fights over HD LED televisions, tablets and even clothes that are known to be on blockbuster sale during the season. At Walmart White Plains, the whole crowd was alarmed when bomb-scare calls were received by the staff.
The bomb threat called for full evacuation of the crowd on Black Friday around 12:30 p.m., and they were only allowed to get back after almost two hours. Another rampage happened in Kohl branch outskirt of Chicago where a suspect was shot by a policeman as he fled to escape.
Another policeman was hit when he was hauled by the suspected shoplifter. The reported shoplifting led to arrest of the suspect while both the hauled policeman and the suspect sustained minor injuries, they were both confined to the hospital for treatment.
As we head on for Black Friday shopping, never forget to take patience with you. Never brawl just over material things that could end up you up lying on the hospital bed. If you can wait, just shop on Cyber Monday that you don't need to see and feel the madness on Black Friday.
