A Shooting Outside A New Jersey Mall Leaves One Person Dead
Powhusku/FlickrEach year, more than 100 million shoppers hit stores across America on Black Friday.
A shooting outside a New Jersey mall saw the death of one person in the wee hours of Black Friday. The shooting took place outside a Macy’s department store. Police arrived at the scene around 3:30 a.m. before the store had even opened its doors. The mall had reportedly closed at midnight on Thanksgiving day and was set to reopen at 6 a.m.
It’s unclear if the shoppers were at the parking lot because of the Black Friday sale or if the shooting was unrelated and had coincidentally happened on the same day. Regardless, the incident has been included in the count Black Friday deaths.
“It’s sad,” said one shopper at the scene, “We’ve been doing this, me and my girls, for probably about 10 years now, just for the fun of going out — a girls’ night and trying to get some special sales and it’s getting scary now.”
San Antonio Man Shot In Yet Another Walmart Parking Lot
2016 saw a second Black Friday-related shooting.
Isidro Zarate, 39, attempted to stop a man from assaulting a woman in a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio, Texas when the alleged assailant pulled a gun out on Zarate. The assailant had reportedly pulled his female companion by her hair through the lot when Zarate intervened.
Zarate and his wife, Lisa Benavides, decided to go Black Friday shopping and arrived at the parking lot around 4 p.m. Benavides went into the store for about half an hour, but when she came out she saw her husband in a body bag.
“A man was grabbing a woman by her hair, so Isidro drove up, rolled down his window and yelled, ‘Take your hands off of her!'” said Benavides. “Isidro was trying to help, but the man just walked up and shot my husband in the neck.”
And with that shooting, the Black Friday death count closes out at 10.
After learning about the recent rash of Black Friday deaths, check out these 21 Black Friday facts that’ll make you think twice before hitting the stores. Then, take a look at these 24 incredible vintage pictures of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
