MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The holidays are supposed to be about peace and love, but they can also lead to some knock-down, drag-out brawls.
Tennessee and Arkansas rank first and second for most likely to have brawls on Black Friday, according to the Estately Blog.
WREG tracked down a couple of people who know all too well what happens when shoppers get angry.
The manager at the Austin P Kmart plans on stepping up security.
WREG also spoke with one woman who said what she saw happen is why she’ll never go shopping on Black Friday again.
Getting those holiday deals could leave you with bruises if you aren’t careful.
You’ve seen the video before: Shoppers get so angry that they start fighting.
Qutina Lang doesn’t need a TV; she saw one fight in person.
“Yes, that’s what made me stop going three years ago, my friend and I we were at a Kmart, but it wasn’t this one, and she actually had the television in the basket and the lady tried to take it out, so they got into it,” she said.
Lang said she helped break up the fight.
She said they were “just about” fist fighting. “I’m like look, it’s just a television, let’s go.”
Shoppers said they aren’t surprised Arkansas and Tennessee are at the top of the list for Black Friday brawls.
Kmart’s store manager Jay Zeligman can also talk about being too close for comfort.
He told WREG about problems at a store he worked at in Nashville several years ago. It’s the reason he’s taking extra steps to prevent any incidents at his current store.
“We have tickets that we give out on our really sought-after merchandise, we pass them out in the mornings before the customers even come in so there’s no fighting,” he said.
“I usually do it online, I just cyber shop because it’s outrageous how they fight over things,” he said.
Tennessee comes in at the top of the list for aggravated assaults on Black Friday.
Rounding out the top 10 are Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Indiana, Kansas and South Carolina.
The calmest holiday shoppers can likely be found in Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Connecticut and Washington.
