The stampede in a Nassau county, New York, Wal-Mart that left Jdimytai Damour dead is a disgrace. The people who trampled this man should be ashamed, acting as hooligans out to get the first XBox 360 or Nintendo Wii. They are no better than the common thug in the streets. It seems the stampede that entered the Valley Stream outlet did so with no good intentions. You see, according to NY Daily News, the “out-of-control” mob of frenzied shoppers smashed through the store’s front doors and trampled this man. Black Friday will be remembered for this senseless death.
The Black Friday stampede plunged the Valley Stream outlet into chaos, knocking several employees to the ground and sending others scurrying atop vending machines to avoid the horde. Source: NY Daily News
When the dust settled, Mr. Damour, 34, was dead and four shoppers, including a pregnant woman, were injured. Was the XBox 360 or Plasma HDTV really worth trampling this man?
“He was bum-rushed by 200 people,” said Wal-Mart worker Jimmy Overby, 43. “They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. “They took me down, too … I didn’t know if I was going to live through it. I literally had to fight people off my back,” Overby said. Source: NY Daily News
That is a disgrace. One would not expect a pack of marauding shoppers to trample innocent people for material gain. These shoppers were a pack of savages.
Roughly 2,000 people gathered outside the Wal-Mart’s doors in the predawn darkness. Chanting “push the doors in,” the crowd pressed against the glass as the clock ticked down to the 5 a.m. opening. Sensing catastrophe, nervous employees formed a human chain inside the entrance to slow down the mass of shoppers.It didn’t work. The mob barreled in and overwhelmed workers.
“They were jumping over the barricades and breaking down the door,” said Pat Alexander, 53, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. “Everyone was screaming. You just had to keep walking on your toes to keep from falling over.”Source: NY Daily News
I have to wonder, what safety precautions did Wal-Mart take or did it ignore the sense of concern the workers at the door expressed about the crowd? The bottom line is that Wal-Mart, which has managed to stay profitable in this challenged economy, has repeatedly proven that it cares more about profits than the welfare of their workers. If they had the proper security detail in place, this may not have happened on such a scale. I don’t know but I am not sure how the cops will find the people who trampled this man. If they do, they deserve to be punished. This is a sad turn of events, but to be honest, I really don’t see anyone being imprisoned for this. If anything, this shows how materialistic and shallow some people are and they will do anything to get what they want, even if it means trampling an innocent man to death. Black Friday was indeed dark and sinister this year. Shameful, simply shameful.
Filed under: Black Friday, Jdimytai Damour, Stampede, Wal-Mart
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