Black Friday violence got even more weird if not “shocking” yesterday, if that’s possible.
A taser or stun gun appeared to be used in a Black Friday mall brawl between two females. See cell phone video embedded above.
The incident occurred at the Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia at about 2:30 am on Black Friday.
According to NBC News Philadelphia , “The video shows the two women punching each other and someone in the crowd yelling, ‘No, stop.’ After the two hit the ground, fighting, you can hear the crackle of what sounds like a stun gun and see fluorescent-colored sparks.”
The general manager of the mall had this to say about the alleged Black Friday taser attack:
“An isolated incident occurred in the early morning hours between two female shoppers, that was quickly stopped by our security team, and both women were escorted out of the mall. We are committed to the safety of our shoppers, retailers and employees and will not tolerate this unacceptable behavior.”
The mall later took to Twitter to deny that a taser was even used in the incident and also added that “the fight diminished quickly.”
In a separate incident, a woman who allegedly pulled out a stun gun in a dispute with another woman over a shopping cart in a Walmart parking lot arrested in New Jersey for illegal possession of the device.
Despite all the nationwide frenzy — and sporadic or not-so-sporadic outbreaks of violence at retail stores — the Wall Street Journal suggests that there are less to Black Friday bargains than meets the eye:
“Stores will be pulling out the stops on deep discounts aimed at drawing customers into stores. But retail-industry veterans acknowledge that, in many cases, those bargains will be a carefully engineered illusion. The common assumption is that retailers stock up on goods and then mark down the ones that don’t sell, taking a hit to their profits. But that isn’t typically how it plays out. Instead, big retailers work backward with their suppliers to set starting prices that, after all the markdowns, will yield the profit margins they want… The common assumption is that retailers stock up on goods and then mark down the ones that don’t sell, taking a hit to their profits. But that isn’t typically how it plays out. Instead, big retailers work backward with their suppliers to set starting prices that, after all the markdowns, will yield the profit margins they want.”
One headline writer generically referred to Black Friday fights as “Brawlmart.” Do you think that if these Black Friday fever-induced brawls continue to escalate that lawmakers will eventually enact regulations putting an end to in-store Black Friday sales?
[thumbnail image credit: jasonbain ]