Moultrie, GA – A Georgia Walmart played host to clawing, screaming, shoving, and garden variety Black Friday madness after unveiling discounted smartphones to their rabid shoppers. Despite a semi-disturbing video of Walmart shoppers fighting tooth-and-nail for the phones, a store spokesperson said no one was hurt.
A video shot at the Moultrie Walmart shows a large crowd shoving and fighting for Black Friday deals on smartphones, with MSN noting that a shopper is even bitten at the 1:10 mark. The video is enough to completely shatter your faith in humanity, and has resulted in at least one person (me) deciding to stay home amid Black Friday madness this year.
The video has been making internet rounds all morning, with a top spot on MSN Now and roughly 20,000 views on the original YouTube posting.
So why are these Walmart shoppers acting like “animals?”
Apparently, Walmart was offering a deal on the smartphones that included a prepaid, unlimited usage plan. Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove told The Huffington Post that the deal’s unveiling “led to excitement among our customers.” He said that the incident was unfortunate, but isolated, and that no injuries were reported. Furthermore, security was on hand, and no one was escorted out of the store.
Black Friday violence has been largely minimal so far, though some mild incidents have been reported. At a Texas Sears, a disgruntled shopper punched another man in line in order to cut ahead, causing the assailed to pull a gun on his attacker . At a Kansas City Victoria’s Secret, a gathered mob came so close to bringing the house down before opening, that the manager took it upon herself to stand on a chair and attempt to quiet the crowd .
Here’s the Moultrie, Georgia Walmart video. Things get crazy right around 0:01.