14 Times Black Friday Shopping Went Completely Off the Rails

Black Friday is supposed to be about saving money, getting a head start on holiday shopping, and maybe scoring a deal on something you've wanted all year. Unfortunately, some shoppers have taken that idea a little too far. Over the years, the promise of deeply discounted electronics, hard-to-find toys, and limited-time bargains has turned ordinary stores into scenes of chaos, with customers pushing, fighting, and sometimes putting other people's lives at risk.

Some of these incidents are almost impossible to believe. Others are downright heartbreaking. From the Cabbage Patch Kids craze of the 1980s to violent confrontations at Walmart and Target, these 14 incidents show just how ugly holiday shopping can become when crowds get out of control. Not every event occurred on Black Friday itself, but each offers a reminder that no bargain is worth someone's safety.

Long before parents were fighting over gaming consoles and smartphones, there were Cabbage Patch Kids. The dolls became the must-have Christmas gift of 1983, and the resulting shopping frenzy was unlike anything many retailers had experienced. At a Zayre department store in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, approximately 1,000 people gathered in hopes of purchasing one of the limited number of dolls available. When the doors opened on November 27, the crowd surged inside, pushing and grabbing for merchandise. One woman suffered a broken leg and three broken ribs during the chaos. Five women were taken to a hospital, according to local reporting. A store manager reportedly stood behind a counter with a baseball bat as the situation spiraled out of control. Interestingly, the incident happened on the Sunday after Thanksgiving rather than Black Friday, but it became one of the earliest and most notorious examples of holiday shopping hysteria.

If you were around during the 1996 holiday season, you probably remember the madness surrounding Tickle Me Elmo. The laughing Sesame Street toy became nearly impossible to find, and some parents were willing to go to extraordinary lengths to get one. At a Walmart in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, approximately 300 shoppers lined up for a chance to purchase just 48 dolls during a December 14 sale. When employees began bringing out the toys, the crowd rushed forward. Store worker Robert Waller was knocked down and trampled, suffering injuries that required hospital treatment. The incident made international headlines and became a defining example of how quickly a popular children's toy could turn otherwise ordinary shoppers into an unruly crowd. While frequently associated with Black Friday history, this particular incident actually occurred several weeks after Thanksgiving.

By 1998, the Furby had become another nearly impossible-to-find Christmas gift. The strange-looking electronic pet could move its ears, blink, respond to sounds, and gradually introduce English phrases alongside its fictional Furbish language. Parents waited in long lines, stores struggled to keep shelves stocked, and resellers took advantage of the shortage by demanding prices far above retail. But the hysteria surrounding these toys took an especially unusual turn when the National Security Agency restricted them from sensitive areas at its headquarters. The agency was concerned that Furbies might record and repeat confidential conversations. There was just one problem: the original Furby wasn't capable of recording conversations. Manufacturer Tiger Electronics confirmed that the toy could respond to sounds but could not record and play back spoken words. The controversy became one of the stranger chapters in holiday toy history.

A Black Friday shopping trip in Sunrise, Florida, turned frightening in 2005 when a crowd rushed into a BrandsMart USA electronics store. Among the customers was a 72-year-old woman who was knocked down and trampled as shoppers pushed their way toward the advertised deals. Rather than entering the store in an orderly fashion, the crowd surged through the entrance, creating a dangerous situation for people caught in its path. The woman survived the incident, but the event became another warning about the risks of poorly controlled shopping crowds. The case was serious enough to be referenced years later in a New York City Council resolution calling for stronger crowd-management requirements at major retail events. The resolution specifically cited the Florida incident as an example of the dangers that can arise when retailers anticipate enormous crowds without sufficient safeguards.

One of the darkest moments in Black Friday history occurred on November 28, 2008, at a Walmart in Valley Stream, New York. Approximately 2,000 shoppers had gathered outside the store, eager to take advantage of early-morning discounts. When the crowd surged forward, the entrance doors gave way, and 34-year-old temporary employee Jdimytai Damour was knocked to the ground. He was trampled and died from asphyxiation. Several other people were injured, including a pregnant woman who was taken to a hospital for observation. Witnesses described shoppers continuing into the store even as employees and emergency responders tried to help Damour. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later cited Walmart for inadequate crowd management and proposed a $7,000 penalty. The tragedy became a turning point in discussions about retailer responsibility, worker safety, and the dangers of encouraging enormous crowds to compete for limited quantities of discounted merchandise.

Keith Krantz had waited approximately eight hours outside a Target in Buffalo, New York, hoping to grab some Black Friday bargains in 2010. But when the store opened around 4 a.m., the situation quickly turned dangerous. Shoppers surged through the entrance, and Krantz lost his footing, falling beneath a crowd of people trying to push their way inside. As more shoppers rushed forward, several piled on top of him, leaving him struggling to breathe. Video of the incident captured the frightening scene as employees and another customer worked to get him back on his feet. Krantz later described fearing for his life while trapped beneath the crowd. Fortunately, he escaped with relatively minor injuries. Target subsequently said it would review and improve its crowd-management procedures, another reminder that even routine holiday sales can become dangerous when large groups rush through narrow entrances.

Imagine heading to Walmart for a discounted Xbox and suddenly finding yourself in the middle of a pepper-spray attack. That's exactly what happened at a store in Porter Ranch, California, during the 2011 Black Friday shopping rush. As customers crowded around discounted video game consoles on Thanksgiving night, a woman allegedly released pepper spray into the crowd. Approximately 20 people suffered minor injuries, including burning eyes, coughing, and difficulty breathing. The woman later surrendered to police, although investigators continued examining the circumstances surrounding the incident. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office ultimately declined to file felony charges and referred the matter to the city attorney for consideration of possible misdemeanor charges. The incident became one of the most widely reported examples of how competition for a relatively inexpensive holiday deal could escalate into a dangerous confrontation.

Another pepper-spray incident unfolded during the same holiday shopping season, this time at a Walmart in Kinston, North Carolina. On Thanksgiving night in 2011, shoppers crowded around discounted electronics as employees attempted to prepare merchandise for sale. Authorities reported that a disturbance broke out, prompting off-duty police officers working security to use pepper spray to control the situation. Gordon Jackson, a former police officer who was shopping at the store, disputed the official account and said officers overreacted to customers trying to secure their places in line. Jackson said his granddaughter, who had asthma, was exposed to the spray and required emergency medical attention. He was subsequently arrested after police said he failed to follow instructions. The conflicting accounts raised questions about both shopper conduct and the appropriateness of using chemical irritants to manage crowded retail environments.

Not every disturbing Black Friday incident involves fighting over merchandise. Sometimes, it's the apparent lack of concern for another person that makes a story so troubling. On November 25, 2011, 61-year-old pharmacist Walter Vance collapsed while shopping at a Target in South Charleston, West Virginia. Witnesses told local reporters that some customers walked around or stepped over the fallen man rather than stopping to help. Nurses who happened to be shopping reportedly provided assistance before emergency responders arrived. Vance was transported to a hospital but did not survive. Target disputed the suggestion that the emergency went completely ignored, stating that store employees responded immediately. The conflicting accounts are important, but the incident nevertheless generated widespread attention and concern about how bystanders react when someone experiences a medical emergency in a crowded public setting.

While most Black Friday stories involve shoppers fighting over discounts, a group of criminals took things considerably further in Union, New Jersey, in 2012. Four men carried out an armed robbery at a Target store on November 23, targeting the large amount of cash collected during the busy shopping day. According to federal prosecutors, one man posed as a customer and acted as a lookout while two accomplices waited inside the store. After closing, the robbers threatened employees with a firearm, restrained workers with zip ties, and stole more than $50,000 from the cash room. A fourth participant served as the getaway driver. All four men later pleaded guilty to their roles in the robbery. Three received prison sentences ranging from 130 months to 156 months, and the defendants were held responsible for restitution totaling $54,000. What began as an ordinary holiday shopping day ended with frightened employees and a major federal criminal case.

Finding a parking space during a major holiday sale can be frustrating, but two shoppers in Virginia took their disagreement to an entirely different level. On Thanksgiving evening in 2013, Ronnie Sharp and Christopher Jackson became involved in an argument over a parking space outside a Walmart in Claypool Hill. According to authorities, the confrontation escalated into a physical fight, during which Sharp used a knife to slash Jackson's arm and also displayed a rifle. Jackson suffered a serious injury that required medical attention. Sharp was charged with malicious wounding and brandishing a firearm, while Jackson faced disorderly conduct and assault and battery charges. Both men were arrested. The altercation happened as retailers were beginning their holiday sales, proving that the chaos associated with Black Friday didn't necessarily wait until shoppers reached the merchandise inside.

Holiday shopping chaos isn't always about fights and stampedes. Sometimes, it involves people trying to profit from a toy that everyone else is struggling to find. In 2016, Hatchimals became one of the season's most sought-after gifts, with the interactive creatures selling out at retailers and appearing on resale websites at dramatically inflated prices. Bestselling author Sara Gruen purchased 156 Hatchimals for approximately $23,595, hoping to resell them and raise money for a legal-defense effort. Unfortunately, she ran into restrictions on how many toys she could list for sale, leaving her with a substantial investment and no easy way to recover the money. The situation sparked criticism from frustrated parents, and Gruen said she received threats over the controversy. She later reported selling a significant portion of the inventory. The incident highlighted how holiday toy shortages can encourage speculation, backlash, and some surprisingly expensive financial decisions.

The launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in 2020 created an entirely new wave of holiday shopping frustration. With limited inventory and enormous demand, some customers spent hours or even days waiting outside stores for a chance to purchase a console. At a GameStop in Dublin, California, the store's small allocation included just two PlayStation 5 consoles and four Xbox systems. Among the successful Xbox buyers was Morgan Swanger, who openly told a television reporter that he intended to resell his purchase for approximately $300 more than he paid. Other customers who had waited in line simply wanted a console to keep, making the resale strategy particularly frustrating. The incident wasn't violent, but it illustrated another side of holiday shopping behavior: purchasing scarce merchandise specifically to profit from people who couldn't find it at retail prices.

A Black Friday shopping trip turned terrifying at the Streets at Southpoint mall in Durham, North Carolina, on November 26, 2021. According to federal prosecutors, Romeo Kevante Pride entered the shopping center carrying a handgun despite having a previous felony conviction. During an attempted robbery of another mall patron, both men discharged firearms, sending shoppers scrambling for safety. Pride and two innocent bystanders were struck by gunfire. The incident prompted an extensive law enforcement response and became another disturbing example of violence unfolding in a crowded retail environment during the holiday season. Pride later pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 110 months in federal prison in April 2023. His conviction and sentence were subsequently upheld on appeal. The shooting demonstrated how quickly an ordinary shopping trip could become a dangerous emergency for innocent bystanders who had no involvement in the confrontation.