Black Friday: Woman Faints After Being Stampeded by Shoppers

A Black Friday shopper at a game store in Uganda fainted after passing out amid a stampeding crowd of excited shoppers, New Vision Uganda reports. The woman reportedly was carried out of the Kampala, Uganda store on a stretcher after passing out amid the boisterous crowd who rushed into the retail shop as soon as employees opened the doors at midnight.

The stampede was so intense that many barriers were knocked over. New Vision Uganda published photos of dozens of shoes ditched by customers making a break for the bargains.

Store manager Fredrick Olwit told the outlet that the number of Black Friday shoppers is “overwhelming” compared to previous years. He said that the store decided to open its doors at midnight on Thursday as compared to previous years when the store would open at 6 a.m. Friday.

“As you may see from the clips … of some of the action happening on the sales floor, we did have quite an overwhelming turnout and excitement,” Olwit said.

The outlet also reported that a man was beaten by customers at the same store for allegedly stealing a wallet.

Meanwhile, Black Friday in the United States has not been without any of its own incidents. Panic speed in a California Target after someone shouted that there was a “shooter.” The Sun reports that an unidentified person yelled the word into the crowd of shoppers, with pandemonium ensuing. One person tweeted that they had to “spring out with my mom out the emergency exit” while someone else warned others to “stay clear of the area.” The incident ultimately turned out to be a prank or false alarm.

Outside a Forever 21 store in a Pennsylvania shopping mall, a fight broke out and made its way across social media.

In Europe, where Thanksgiving is just another Thursday, Black Friday is still a big deal — but widely protested by some activists, politicians and even consumers. Worker at Amazon in Germany went on strike for better pay, and in Paris, climate protestors blocked one of Amazon’s warehouses to protest over-production that they say is killing the planet. In Britain, consumer rights group say retailers use Black Friday as a slogan to lure in shoppers, but it’s not always clear how real or big the discounts actually are. Others say it hurts small businesses.

Carlo Allegri / Staff / Getty