California’s Worst Black Friday Deaths and Injuries

Every Black Friday, approximately 150 million shoppers hit the shopping stores across the nation.

This day, which follows the Thanksgiving Day, marks the start of the holiday shopping season. Unfortunately, this day also marks some of the worst holiday deaths and injuries all over the country.

Unfortunately, along with the incredible increase in sales of shopping centers all over the U.S., number of deaths and injuries soars high as well during the biggest shopping day of the year.

In Los Angeles, a slip-and-fall accident attorney see the mobs of bargain hunters who have turned aggressive and even violent in search of great savings as the main cause of increased death and injuries during Black Friday. 

Through the years, he has witnessed few of the worst Black Friday disasters in California. Here are few of those unfortunate incidences:



In 2006..

•    Ten bargain hunters, including an elderly woman, were injured in rushing for gift certificates that were being dropped from the ceiling of Del Amo Fashion Center in Southern California.

Image gives credit to Reed Saxon / AP.

In 2008..

•    Two men were killed during a shoot-out in Toys ‘R’ Us in Palm Desert, California.






In 2011..

Image gives credit to US News.

•    In Oaks Mall, California, hundreds of shoppers destroyed the gate to the store and knocked down the metal detectors.

Image gives credit to CNN.

•    In Walmart, Los Angeles, 20 people including children were injured after a woman unleashed pepper spray as a mob of bargain hunters made a wild dash for X Box game consoles. As a result of which, 10 people were injured from pepper spray while some 10 incurred cuts and bruises from the chaos.

Image gives credit to CBS Local.

•    In Walmart, San Leandro, a man was hospitalized after being shot with a gun of another man in a parking lot. According to police, it was a robbery gone bad. Allegedly, the suspects were trying to take the family’s Black Friday purchases but the family refused to hand over the goods.

Photo by Allen J. Schaben / LA Times

In 2012

•    Five people were injured after a mob of shoppers surged into Urban Outfitters in Santa Monica. According to police reports, the bargain hunters smashed the tall glass door of the store.





Although it is the duty of the retailers to keep their business premises free from accidents such as slip-and-fall, nothing would be better if the shoppers themselves will take extra precautions when hunting for big savings. Always put safety at first more than anything.