17 Hurt as Computer Sale Turns Into Stampede

[weirdharold]

Taken from the Washington Post

By Stephanie McCrummen and Aymar Jean
Washington Post Staff Writers
Presented with a rare chance to get a used laptop computer for $50, a crowd of more than 5,000 showed up hours early yesterday at the Richmond International Raceway and -- when the gates finally were flung open at 7 a.m. -- turned into an unruly stampede, as people pushed, shoved and beat each other to get to the Apple iBooks. Elderly men and women were trampled and a girl's stroller was crushed. ....

The melee lasted about five minutes, and about 70 police officers eventually were called in to control the crowd, Stanley said. About 17 people were injured, including four who were taken to a hospital and treated for scrapes, bruises, heat-related problems and possible broken bones, authorities said.

Four years ago, Henrico County purchased 18,000 of the computers for about $1,100 each for its public school students and teachers. The county decided to sponsor yesterday's event to sell 1,000 surplus iBooks to residents.

Some sales just bring out the worst in some people!

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by weirdharold

Taken from the Washington Post


Some sales just bring out the worst in some people!

They say Apple users are fanatical.... I didnt know that worked with prospective ones as well.

[WickedTemptress]

OMG, that's insane!

They should have had someone at the gates let only so many people in at a time...

Anticipating problems and trying to solve them before they become real problems sure could have prevented at least most of this from happening.

[Bhelliom]

Saw this on CNN this morning... Seemed like it was justa lot of people that saw a chance finally to get a reasonably priced computer for their kids... and it got a lot out of hand..

Its too bad that things like that happen... they could have done it a little differently when they realised how many people showed up.... likea lottery or something

[Bobbiekey]

OMG! That's just too insane. I'm with you Bhelliom, a lottery would have made more sense. Certainly they should have anticipated problems.

[MorganGrayson]

Originally Posted by WickedTemptress

Anticipating problems and trying to solve them before they become real problems sure could have prevented at least most of this from happening.

*wiping away a tear*

I love this woman. What a beautiful world she lives in.


I'm teasing on ya, Wicked. I'd love to live in a world where people anticipated the screamingly obvious problems that were about to occur and dealt with them before they turned into a riot. It should have been SO obvious that a sale like that would bring out droves of people...although anticipating body slammed elderly and handicapped might have been difficult.

[weirdharold]

I believe the problems were anticipated... there were 20 cops patroling the event at the start.... come on now 20 cops for a used computer sale.... would seem like a lot to most anyone..... The knew there was more interest being generated than they thought there would be ....

The county posted the event on its Web site, local newspapers ran stories on the sale and news otherwise spread on blogs and by word of mouth. But no one expected such a crowd, Stanley said.

"I just think the whole system was overwhelmed with the number of people that showed up," he said.

Proto said the county initially was going to open the sale to the general public. When Henrico began receiving inquiries as far away as California and Germany, however, it decided to restrict the sale to county residents, he said.

These show there were signs of trouble.... therefore, cutting the sale back to county residents..... and having 20 cops on hand at the start.... come on, who would have figured there would be a need for 50 more cops along with teams of volunteer firefighters to restore order?

20 cops for 5000 people and a riot breaks out.... Makes me wonder if the cops on hand weren't more concerned about getting their own used computer instead of doing their job.