29 November 2008

Wal-Mart Stampede Kills One in New York

It's happened again and this time it happened in the U.S.  A rowdy, ugly mob of early morning shoppers literally burst through locked glass doors at a Wal-Mart near Queens, New York, on Black Friday. A 34 year old temporary maintenance worker was savagely trampled to death, just hours after enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with family.

Just 15 miles away at another Wal-Mart, another worker was trampled, but not fatally.

This is disgusting behavior by both the unruly crowd and also corporate malfeasance by Wal-Mart.  The provision of a safe, hazard-free workplace was neglected to the extreme by the largest retailer in the world.

The full story can be found at the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and CNN with their own coverage, and The Washington Post carrying the Associated Press coverage.

Shopping stampedes have happened before and will obviously happen again.  Simply a travesty.