Thaindian News

Washington, Nov 26 (IANS) Hunting cheap deals, Black Friday shoppers turned violent in at least seven states, including California, where police say a woman doused fellow shoppers with pepper spray in a bid to snag a discounted video game console.

The incident happened Thursday night at a Walmart in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles as the store ushered in the traditional sales spree after the Thanksgiving holiday hours before midnight, CNN reported citing a police spokesman.

Ten people were exposed to the spray. Los Angeles firefighters treated them at the scene and no one required hospitalisation, he said.

Incidents also occurred in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, New York, Alabama and Connecticut, with most of the reported incidents happening at or near Walmart stores.

Despite the reports, Walmart said the day’s shopping frenzy had been remarkably safe for shoppers at its thousands of stores nationwide.

In 2008, crowds of frantic Black Friday shoppers trampled a Walmart employee in New York as he and other workers tried to unlock the door at 5 a.m.

While no deaths were reported in this year’s shopping, authorities said they handled fights, shootings and other incidents through the morning.

In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, police said two people suffered injuries in an apparent armed robbery attempt after they left a Walmart store around 1 a.m. Friday, CNN reported.

Would-be robbers struck a man on the head and shot a woman in the leg before another shopper displayed a gun and the assailants fled, police said. The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment, he said.