Black Friday madness: Grandfather body-slammed by cops, man tasered, two shot, Wal-Mart in bomb scare and woman pepper-sprays rival shoppers on day of chaos

Police use taser on father at Wal-Mart in Alabama amid scramble for bargains



Woman uses pepper spray on other shoppers at Wal-Mart in Los Angeles



Bomb scare as police evacuate Wal-Mart in Arizona after finding 'explosive'



Elsewhere woman, 55, is shot by robbers outside South Carolina Wal-Mart

Off-duty cop uses pepper spray to quell Wal-Mart scuffle in North Carolina

Gunfire erupted at North Carolina mall at 2am near food court entrance

Record Black Friday sales predicted with online revenues alone up 20%

Slammed: Jerald Allen Newman was forced to the ground and arrested after he allegedly shoplifted a video game

Black Friday yesterday descended into a violent frenzy in the U.S. as shoppers were tasered, pepper-sprayed and led away in handcuffs as bargain hunters battled for the best deals on offer.



A grandfather was knocked unconscious to the floor in Arizona, a California shopper used pepper-spray on fellow bargain hunters and gunfire erupted at a North Carolina mall.

An off-duty cop used pepper-spray in North Carolina, an Alabama shopper was tasered, a South Carolina woman was robbed and a California shopper was shot in a separate robbery.

There was a bomb scare in Arizona, a man was charged in a New York brawl, a Hollister shop was burgled in New York City and girls punched each other at a Pennsylvania Victoria’s Secret.

This year’s Black Friday is on course to become the biggest on record with a staggering 152 million people predicted to shop over the weekend - up 10 per cent on last year, according to estimates.

And, perhaps as a means of avoiding the carnage in stores and malls, online revenues soared 20 per cent.

A graphic video showing a 'shoplifting' grandfather unconscious on the floor of a Wal-Mart with a bloody face followed the latest ugly incident to come out of the Black Friday sales across the U.S.

Jerald Allen Newman, 54, was shown unconscious in Phoenix, Arizona, after an officer took him to the ground, as cops are seen trying to sop up blood and outraged customers yell expletives.

The man’s wife and other witnesses say he was trying to help his young grandson after the boy was trampled by shoppers, and only put a video game in his waistband to free his hands to help the boy.

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Bleeding: The video shows 54-year-old Jerald Allen Newman unconscious and covered in blood after a police officer took him to the ground in the Phoenix suburb of Buckeye

‘I heard screaming and I heard yelling,’ witness Matthew Lopez, 18, told the Los Angeles Times. ‘Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up.’

A Wal-Mart in Phoenix, Arizona, was evacuated due to a suspicious package. An employee reported seeing a strange package inside a fridge in the employee break room.

And police arrived and confirmed that it looked like an explosive. It later turned out to not be dangerous.

Meanwhile gunfire erupted at Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville, North Carolina, at around 2am this morning near a food court entrance as holiday shoppers gathered.

Pain: This shopper received pepper spray in her face during the computer games scuffle at the L.A. Wal-Mart

Huge crowds: Crowds of shoppers trying to bag a bargain from a Wal-Mart store during the Black Friday sales last night were drenched in pepper spray when a scramble for Xbox 360 console deals turned ugly Medical help: Police are hunting a female shopper who allegedly injured 20 people at the store in Los Angeles, California, after a confrontation at 10.20pm - just 20 minutes after the shop had opened its doors Tasered: Police used a taser on this father at a Wal-Mart store in Florence, Alabama to 'get him under control'

'People started screaming, pulling and pushing each other, and then the whole area filled up with pepper spray. I just stayed in the toy aisle' Alejandra Seminario Detectives are looking for two suspects. Several more shots were fired after one of the suspects ran inside the mall. But there are no reports of any injuries and no evacuation was ordered. A Hollister store in New York was burgled by a crowd of shoppers who were impatient waiting outside at around 12:30am on Friday morning, reported the New York Observer. An off-duty police officer hired by Wal-Mart had to use pepper spray as he tried to make an arrest and quell a disturbance during shopping at a local store in Kinston, North Carolina, police said. Dangerous: Shoppers shield their mouths after the North Carolina pepper spraying incident

Chaos: This is a grab taken from a video which showed the mayhem caused by the L.A. pepper spray incident Shopper Angel Bunting says the incident began when a man waiting in line for mobile phones marked down from $200 to $35 fell into a display. BARGAIN OF THE DAY? Jose Alvarez, 34, of Brooklyn, New York, waited for half an hour outside a P.C. Richard & Sons store before it opened at 4am.

The freelancer's efforts paid off as he managed to buy a 60-inch Sharp flat screen television reduced from $1,900 to $997 in what could be the bargain of the day.

'I've been holding off and holding off, and I found just the right moment,' he told the New York Daily News. 'I couldn't be happier.' Police in Florence, Alabama, used a taser to get Christopher Blake Pyron, 22, who was allegedly drunk, under control at a Wal-Mart store. Shoppers told ABC 31 the cops had no other option. Tonia Robbins, 55, was in serious condition after being shot by two robbers who demanded her purse at a mall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, just after 1am early Friday morning. Another shopper was shot in a robbery at a Wal-Mart in San Leandro, California. Elsewhere police were investigating a possible shooting in the car park of Valley West Mall in West Des Moines, Iowa. One man was charged with disorderly conduct after a brawl broke out in the electronics department of a Wal-Mart in Rome, New York state, which left two women injured. An explosive device was found at a Wal-Mart in Cave Creek, Arizona. A robot took it away from a fridge, which led to the evacuation of that Wal-Mart as police dogs combed the store. Aftermath: A police officer holds a bloody shirt as evidence is gathered at the scene of a Black Friday shooting at a Wal-Mart in San Leandro, California Not so Zen: Shopper Liz Wentling told CBS girls and mothers in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, were punching each other at a Victoria's Secret store where a great deal on yoga clothing was causing a stir Fire engines: A witness described an 'absolutely crazy' scene in L.A. where the video games display was torn down and customers trampled over the computer games and DVDs that had fallen on the floor

Ugly: A scramble broke out for Xbox 360 console deals at the Wal-Mart store in California (file pictures) Witnesses in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, said girls and mothers were allegedly punching each other at a Victoria’s Secret store where a great deal on yoga clothing was causing a stir. 'They threw little bags in baskets and they were just like: “Here”. Girls were literally shoving each other, moms were getting into it' Liz Wentling ‘They threw little bags in baskets and they were just like: “Here”,’ shopper Liz Wentling told CBS Pittsburgh. ‘Girls were literally shoving each other, moms were getting into it.’ Back in Los Angeles, a police spokesman said the woman was using the spray to 'gain an upper hand'. A fire spokesman said the injuries to least 10 people were due to ‘rapid crowd movement’. She had been trying to keep fellow shoppers away from the electronics she wanted - and people were injured as they jostled trying to escape the spray in the crowded store, authorities said. Stampede: A video posted on Twitter showed staff at a Best Buy believed to be in Puerto Rico struggling to contain a horde of shoppers as they opened Madness: This video shot inside what is believed to be a California Best Buy store shows a fight that broke out Scramble: A Twitter user posted a video showing shoppers in an unidentified Wal-Mart store fighting over $2 waffle makers and passing boxes over their heads

‘People started screaming, pulling and pushing each other, and then the whole area filled up with pepper spray,’ Alejandra Seminario, 24, told the Los Angeles Times. ‘I just stayed in the toy aisle.’

'I heard screaming and I heard yelling. Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up' Matthew Lopez

She added that people started pulling the plastic off pallets on the floor and were ‘pushing and screaming’ as they were shoved over.

‘It was definitely the worst Black Friday I’ve ever experienced,’ Joseph Poulose told the newspaper.

'This was an unfortunate situation,' a Wal-Mart spokesman said. 'We're glad everyone seems to be OK.’ The spokesman added the store will provide officials with CCTV footage to help an investigation.

Authorities are still looking for the pepper spray woman - who was one of millions of American rushing to the shops last night to snap up a bargain before Thanksgiving Day was even over.

Get back: Some scientists believe that sites such as Groupon have led to chaos at store sales

It's mine! Bargain hunters shop for discounted merchandise at Macy's on 'Black Friday' today in New York. Marking the start of the holiday shopping season, 'Black Friday' is one of the busiest days of the year Decent prices: Bargain hunters shop for discounted merchandise at Macy's on 'Black Friday' in New York City

An estimated 152million people are expected to shop over Black Friday weekend, up 10 per cent from last year, according the National Retail Federation.

And in New York, Occupy protesters formed human barricades to try and block shoppers from entering stores - in particular targeting Macy's department store.

The first chain to open up was Toys 'R' Us, which let customers - many of whom camped outside - in at 9pm yesterday. An hour later, retail giant Wal-Mart unlocked its doors up amid a flood of customers, while low-cost rival Target let shoppers in at 11pm.

Bargain! Shoppers lined up for television sets at a Target Store in Chicago this morning

Drama: Protesters from Occupy Wall Street tried to prevent people from entering Macy's department store

Patiently waiting: People stand in line outside Macy's department store, waiting for the shop to open

Midnight scramble: Shoppers had to be held back from entering a Best Buy store in Mesquite, Texas

And at midnight, electronics retailer Best Buy along with departments stores Macy's and Beall's all opened - all hours before the traditional daybreak starts.

The early openings combined with greater than usual media coverage has prompted retail experts to predict record-breaking number of customers in U.S. stores.

But, as a record 212million actually showed up last year when the LRF estimated 138million, other analysts are predicting even more people hitting the shops this weekend.

The doors are open: People rush into the entrance of Macy's department store in New York

Packed: Crowds lines up to get on an escalator inside Macy's department store at Midnight in New York Eager: Security guards struggle to stop shoppers getting into Best Buy in New York before its 11pm opening

Crammed: Shoppers in Toys R Us in Times Square, New York, New York for early Black Friday opening

First out with bargains: A shopper leaves the Toys R Us store in Westbury, New York after it opened at 9pm

'Black Friday will be strong because so many stores are opening Thursday and that gives consumers at least six more hours to shop, Candace Corlett, of WSL Strategic Retail, told CNN.



'It will also attract people who may be willing to go out Thursday night, but aren't about to get up early Friday morning.'

Shoppers waiting in line outside Best Buy in Clearwater, Florida, said they're buying back some of their time by being in line before everyone the early morning rush hits.

Racing up the stairs: Shoppers and employees participate in Best Buy Black Friday at Union Square, New York

Bargains galore: Tempted by deals, hundreds fill a small part of the main floor in Macy's

Queuing round the block: People stand in line outside of Macy's before the it opens

Happy holidays: Many shoppers chose to wear Santa hats to mark the traditional start of Christmas shopping

From Thanksgiving to Christmas: Carol-singers perform for customers waiting in line outside Toys R Us in New York

‘I've never done this before. So, I'm thinking, 'Yay, I can go home and sleep in my own bed tonight,’ camper and shopper Tracy Hegwood told News 13.



‘I mean, it's an extra five hours I don't have to wait,’ camper and eventual shopper Michael Rovitto said. ‘I can get in, get out, and go home and go to sleep.



Retailers are banking on some shoppers preferring to stay up late to go shopping early, rather than wake up and go.

BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING: Q & A

The day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, kicks off the holiday shopping season. Each year, retailers open their doors early and offer shoppers deals of up to 70 percent off on everything from electronics to clothes. And shoppers typically turn out in droves.

Before you head out to the stores this year, there a few things you should know about Black Friday:

Q: How did the day get its name?

A: Accounts differ on the origin of the term. One theory is that it had roots in the 1960s in Philadelphia where it was used to describe the heavy pedestrian and car traffic on the day after Thanksgiving. The most common theory, though, is that the day got its name because it's usually when retailers turn a profit for the year, or operate in the ‘black.’

Q. Is Black Friday the biggest shopping day of the year?

A. ShopperTrak, which monitors customer traffic and sales at 25,000 stores nationwide, says that Black Friday has been the top sales day every year but one since it started monitoring holiday data in 2002; the only exception was in 2004, when the busiest day was the Saturday before Christmas.

Q. What's new?

A. Black Friday mania is seeping into Thanksgiving Day. Nearly 1,000 Gap stores will be open on Thanksgiving. Toys R Us will open at 9 p.m. And several other stores will open at midnight that evening, including Target, Best Buy, Kohl's and Macy's. Wal-Mart, whose supercenters already operate around the clock, also is opening most of its other stores by 10 p.m. Thanksgiving evening.

Q. Will you get the best deals of the season on Black Friday?

A. Not necessarily. Stores have discounts that are just as good throughout the holiday season. And there are even better deals to be had after Christmas Day. But the problem is if you wait too long, you might not get exactly what you want since stores have kept their inventories lean this year.



‘Though many retailers are already touting select Black Friday ads, there’s no doubt we’ll all be blown away by what retailers still have in their bag of tricks for shoppers,’ said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.



‘We fully expect to see excited shoppers as early as midnight at stores around the country, as many holiday shoppers would rather stay up all night to take advantage of retailers’ Black Friday deals rather than set their alarm to wake up the next morning.’

But some economists are skeptical. They said opening stores even earlier may just change the time people shop, but not increase the number of shoppers coming through stores on Black Friday.

Toys and electronics are likely to be the biggest draws this year, experts say.



'This is going to be the most promotional holiday period for electronics of the last few years,' Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at the NPD Group told CNN.



Deals include the Xbox 360 console with Kinect at Wal-Mart for $199, Target's Westinghouse 46-inch LCD HDTV for $298 or the Sharp 42-inch LCD HDTV at Best Buy for $199.



Analysts DisplaySearch. expect L CD TV prices to hit an all-time low this Black Friday.

But, alongside mass consumption, stores can also expect expect mass protests - and are bracing themselves for 'Occupy Black Friday' as Wall Street demonstrators ask shoppers to get involved with something besides door-buster sales and crowded mall car parks.

Some protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement do not want people to shop at all but others are hoping to divert them from giant chains and malls to local convenience stores.



Their actions are uncoordinated but hold similar themes of supporting small businesses while criticising the day's dedication to consumption and the shopping frenzy that fuels big corporations.

Nearly each one promises some kind of surprise action on the day after Thanksgiving, which marks the traditional start of the holiday shopping season in the U.S.

In Seattle, protesters are driving to Wal-Mart stores to protest with other Occupy groups from around Washington state.



Washington D.C. is offering a ‘really, really free market,’ where people can donate items they don't want so others can go gift shopping for free.

Elsewhere the 75-person encampment in Boise, Idaho, will send ‘consumer zombies’ to wander around in silent protest of what they view as unnecessary spending.

In Chicago, protesters will serenade shoppers with revamped Christmas carols about buying local.

The Des Moines, Iowa, group plans flash mobs at three malls in an attempt to get people to think about what they're buying.

‘We didn't want to guilt-trip people at a mall,’ Occupy Des Moines organiser Ed Fallon said. ‘We wanted to get at them in a playful, friendly way, to support local businesses.’

Happy customer: One man carries out his new 32-inch LCD TV from a Best Buy store in Fairfax, Virginia

Excitement: One of the youngest shoppers waits in line as Toys R Us CEO Gerald L. Storch greets crowds

Anticipation: People stand in line outside of Macy's department store in New York

Protesters say the movement should not take away money and seasonal jobs from the working-class majority it purports to represent.



They want the corporations to be the focus of any protests. But organisers do hope their actions drive people to reconsider shopping at national chains and go to small locally-owned stores instead.

That may not fly with small businesses wary of any association with the movement, which presents itself as pushing back against corporate power.

‘If you ask, a lot of small business owners identify as business owners, not specifically small business,’ Jean Card, of the National Federation of Independent Business, said.

‘I would like to believe there is a silver lining, but I don't picture a frustrated consumer that can't get into a box store turning around and going to a small business. I see that person going home.’

OCCUPY FEARS PROMPT ORDERS FOR SHOPPERS TO REMOVE TENTS

Fears that shoppers camping out for Black Friday deals may secretly be Ocuupy Wall Street demonstrators have prompted some stores to demand tents are removed.

The annual tradition of bargain hunters hoping to be first in line is thought to be the perfect pretext for the anti-capitalist protesters to set up a permanent encampment outside businesses.

One of the stores - Best Buy in Roseville, California, claimed that having tents in front of the store is a liability issue.

But, as this has not been the case in previous years, those now forced to huddle up with only blankets and each other for warmth, are convinced the protests have caused the change of heart.

Trying to shop exclusively local neglects economies of scale, job specialisation and other benefits that big, multi-state corporations can bring, said George Mason University economist Russ Roberts.

‘Don't punish yourself by not shopping where you can get the best deal - that's foolish,’ he said.

Small businesses are not necessarily better employers in terms of wages, benefits, opportunities for advancement and other measures, said North Carolina public policy research expert John Quinterno.

He calculates small ‘mom-and-pops’, which he defines as businesses with fewer than 10 employees, account for nearly 80 per cent of employer firms in the U.S., but only about 11 per cent of the jobs.

‘Sometimes we romanticise small business - and I say this as a small business owner myself - so that it skews some of our debates about economic and labour policy,’ Mr Quinterno said.

‘It doesn't mean they aren't important. It just means that larger businesses tend to create a lot more value-added per job,’ the principal of public policy research firm South by North Strategies said.

The protests are largely focused on shopping areas in affluent suburbs home to big chain stores. As with the entire movement, the protests bring with them a litany of causes.

In addition to protests of big chains, causes include clothes made from animal fur, McDonald's, homelessness and, in Las Vegas, the low gambling taxes paid by casinos.

The formula is ideal for the Occupy protests - many of whom have faced evictions from large-scale encampments in recent weeks.

Happy camping: Shoppers camp out at Best Buy for Black Friday in Pembroke Pines, Florida

Camping for bargains: Shoppers wait for midnight at a Best Buy store at Santee, California Waiting for goods: These shoppers erected themselves a canape to shelter from the elements

Ready: Barbara Riccelli, Vicki Hawkins, Robert King and Vicki Lawrence (left to right) sit outside their tents while camping out outside the Best Buy store waiting for when the store opens at midnight in Mesquite, Texas

Online shopping: Staff at an 800,000 sq ft Amazon centre in Britain process orders as they prepare their busiest time of the year as Black Friday begins in America and Cyber Monday follows in the UK

With a large number of people in a confined space, the Black Friday protests present one of the earliest tests for the movement in its new, fragmented iteration.

Most protests plan to make a point and move on - a strategy they have implemented in some cities with targeted marches for specific causes since the camps were broken up.

‘It's not about specific occupation camps anymore,’ said protester Peter Morales of Austin, Texas. ‘It's more of, you know, real awareness of what's going on in our government.’

Another shop local movement, Small Business Saturday, was started last year to encourage people to shop at small businesses on the day after Black Friday.

But the Occupy groups are underwhelmed as this movement was started by American Express.

Last year, small retailers that accept American Express saw a 28 per cent increase in sales volume on Small Business Saturday from the same day the year before, the company says.

‘It's just another example of the banks and Wall Street trying to take the very real desires of working people to have a humane economic system and twisting it to their ends,’ said Peter Rickman of Occupy Milwaukee.

BARGAINS GALORE: THE BEST OF THE BLACK FRIDAY DEALS

Amazon is offering top of the range smartphones for just one penny between November 22 and November 28.

Best Buy are offering dig discounts on tech items from midnight tonight. It is slicing $200 off the cost of 42in Sharp LCD TVs and $150 off Nikon Coolpix digital cameras.

Gap has cut 60 per cent off selected items in its outlets since Wednesday, until tomorrow.

Old Navy is offering Kodak EasyShare Sport digital cameras free to the first of its Black Friday shoppers who spend more than $40. The cameras are worth about $100.



Office Depot has cut the price of Blackberry's Playbook tablet computers by $100 from today and is offering 15.6in Toshiba laptops with Intel processors for just $399.99.



OfficeMax is offering discounts on printers, including Canon MX870 Colour Inkjet wireless models worth $250 for just $80 and HP Colour Photosmart Inkjets for $79.99, reduced from $199.99.



Staples is slashing the price of Targus Leather iPad Covers from $50 to just $9.99 and offering HP Photosmart Plus wireless printers at a special price of $49.90, down from $149.99.



Target will be selling Nikon L105 Digital Cameras for just $99.99, less than half the usual retail price of $199.99, while the more domestically oriented will be drawn to the KitchenAid Ultra Power Stand Mixer for $199, cut from $249.99.



Macy's , the department store, is to open at midnight tonight - the first time in its history it has opened early on Black Friday - to offer selected items at between 20 per cent and 50 per cent off.



Toys'R'Us will open at 9pm tonight with a range of discounted video games. The chain is also expecting massive demand for classic toys like Barbie and Hot Wheels.

Walmart is offering a range of deals including video games and big screen televisions, including Xbox 360s with Kinect and a $50 gift card for the knock-down price of $199.96.

Warning: Contains strong language

Grandpa Arrested After Black Friday Brawl: MyFoxPHOENIX.com