Gunnar Rathbun | AP Images for Walmart

Holiday shoppers scored great deals at Walmart on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017 in Bentonville, Ark. Color coded departments in Walmart stores helped customers locate top products across categories including electronics, toys, home, and apparel.

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2017 Black Friday fights: 1 shot in Missouri, brawl shut down Alabama mall, more

by Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com

Violence has broken out in the 2017 Black Friday shopping frenzy, as at least one person was shot at a Missouri mall and another shopping center in Alabama shut down due to brawls.

Many stores opened early for the deep discounts and holiday sales on Thanksgiving. Two out of every three Americans reportedly plan to shop over the five-day weekend, including Cyber Monday.

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Adam Hunger | AP Images for Target

On Black Friday, Target offers its lowest prices of the season on items like TVs and electronics as shoppers shop on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017, in Jersey City, N.J.

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1 shot at Missouri mall

KMIZ-TV reports one person was shot outside a Missouri college town mall on Thursday night, when stores opened for early Black Friday deals. An unidentified 19-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in the parking lot shooting at the Columbia Mall. A suspect and possible motive have not been identified; police were still interviewing witnesses Friday morning.

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A spokesperson from @Columbia_Fire confirms the agency assisted @ColumbiaPD in responding to an accidental shooting at Columbia Mall. pic.twitter.com/KB45jW0Mv5 — Megan Sanchez KRCG13 (@MSanchezKRCG13) November 24, 2017

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Brawl shuts down Alabama mall

A mall in Alabama shut down early on Thursday after a brawl broke out during early Black Friday shopping. AL.com reports Hoover police and firefighters responded to the Riverchase Galleria after 11 p.m. Thanksgiving after at least one fight on the second floor; a video shows two girls fighting, though officers said it was over a personal conflict and not over sales. One local Fox reporter said a shoe was thrown during the melee, hitting a baby in the head.

Authorities have not confirmed any arrests, but the Galleria closed 40 minutes before its scheduled closing time of midnight. The mall reopened Friday morning for Black Friday deals.

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JUST IN: @HooverPD say they responded to several reports of fights at the Galleria Thursday night. Here's video of one incident outside the Buckle store. More on @WBRCnews this morning. pic.twitter.com/UZEZQGykGE — Clare Huddleston (@Fox6Clare) November 24, 2017

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Fighting over a toy car?

A video on YouTube purports to show two "grown men fighting over a toy car" on Black Friday at a Walmart. A store employee breaks up the incident and tells them "neither one of you get it." It's unclear where the video was shot.

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Skipping the lines?

According to the Daily Mail, some people have attempted to skip the lines at Walmart and Best Buy by wearing employee vests, either obtained from past employment or through social media users selling them online. It's unclear if any of them were successful.

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I’m selling this Walmart vest for $100. Use it to skip the line during Black Friday. You can even walk in, grab what you want, and walk out🤷🏾‍♂️. pic.twitter.com/Q0UyDHUeU0 — 6’4 (@iEat2please) November 20, 2017

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Past violence on Black Friday

In Virginia, two men were arrested after a stabbing in a fight over a parking space at a Walmart in 2013.

Police were called to a Walmart in Norwalk, California, after two women were pushing, shoving and allegedly throwing punches over a Barbie doll on Thanksgiving night in 2014.

In Las Vegas, a customer who bought a big-screen TV at Target was shot in the leg while walking back to a nearby apartment complex in 2013.

A video in 2015 showed several people fighting at a mall in Florence, Kentucky, allegedly over a pair of Air Jordan sneakers.

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Tracking Black Friday violence

WFMY-TV in North Carolina reports a website has been tracking violence on Black Friday over the past decade. According to BlackFridayDeathCount.com's unofficial count, 10 people have killed during the holiday shopping frenzy since 2006 and more than 100 people have been injured.

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Strategies to stop violence

Stores have staggered opening hours, added staff, limited customers inside and tried other strategies to prevent riots from breaking out. KOMO reports Seattle police have added a new security measure for crowd safety: Parked buses. Assistant Chief Chris Fowler said they will use buses and armored vehicles Friday near Westlake Park to stop possible terrorist attacks like the one in New York City on Halloween that left eight people dead.

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Best Buy at Destiny is letting in shoppers 10 at a time. Hundreds are still in line. #cnyblackfriday pic.twitter.com/6hoAXGxfGc — Sarah Moses Buckshot (@SarahMoses315) November 23, 2017

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Black Friday shopping

The Associated Press reports about 69 percent of Americans, or 164 million people, intend to shop at some point during the five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation. Black Friday is still expected to be the busiest day, with an estimated 115 million people shopping on Friday, Nov. 24. Altogether, Americans are expected to spend more than $20 billion.

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The psychology behind Black Friday crowds — and why they'll will never go away https://t.co/X7xBcYLNTU — TIME (@TIME) November 24, 2017

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More on Black Friday

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Andy Kropa | AP Images for MAcy's

Macy's Herald Square flagship opens its doors at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day for thousands of early Black Friday shoppers in search of amazing sales, door buster deals, and limited-time-offers on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017, in New York.