Shoppers surged into an Urban Outfitters store on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica after midnight Friday and smashed a tall glass door, injuring about five people, authorities said.
Paramedics treated a few shoppers for minor cuts but no one was transported to the hospital by ambulance, said Sgt. Marty Fine of the Santa Monica Police Department.
"It was just too many people, too fast," Fine said.
PHOTOS: The Black Friday rush
Around midnight, at least 100 people had lined up for Urban Outfitters' Black Friday deals, which offered up to 50% off on some items. When the 12-foot all-glass double doors opened, the crowd pushed toward the doors and broke the left one.
Police officers were assigned to the general area but the store did not have its own security, Fine said.
An Urban Outfitters store manager declined to comment.
The store, which, ironically, features a stylized broken glass look to either side of the doors, was closed for a few minutes as injuries were treated and glass shards were swept away.
At 9 a.m. Friday, the store was reopened and bustling with activity.
Early Black Friday openings are paying off, retailers say / 9:05 a.m.
Retailers said early openings on Thanksgiving night seemed to pay off.
Hours after the first Black Friday deals rolled out, several chains were in cheery moods after seeing bigger crowds on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
At Sears, which opened for the first time at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, lines were longer than in previous years, said company spokesman Tom Aiello.
"We had lines ranging from 300 to 1,000 people," he said. "Everyone was curious about how the 8 p.m. Thanksgiving evening was going to go. For the most part, once you got into the store it was manageable and the crowds aren't too bad."
Shoppers queued up outside Toys R Us stores, which also opened at 8 p.m., said they were happy to shop after turkey and pie instead of getting up out of warm beds in the middle of the night for good bargains, said Troy Rice, senior vice president of stores and services.
Rice said more families were out and about with kids in tow, hunting for Lego play sets, Barbie dolls and kid-oriented tablet computers.
"It was really a family event that we saw going on last night," he said. "The mood in lines were very positive and celebratory."
Dustin Hamilton, a district manager at Target, said shoppers "voted with their wallets" by storming stores around the Southland at its 9 p.m. opening, which was three hours ealier than last year.
"I spoke with several customers who said it was their first time our for Black Friday, and the reason they were out was because of the earlier openings," he said.
Live updates: Black Friday shoppers smash door at Urban Outfitters
This article
Live updates: Black Friday shoppers smash door at Urban Outfitters
can be opened in url
http://newshalte.blogspot.com/2012/11/live-updates-black-friday-shoppers.html
Live updates: Black Friday shoppers smash door at Urban Outfitters
