Crazed shoppers pile up at Target

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Shoppers waited out in the cold wet weather for hours. When the doors opened at 4 a.m. the Black Friday chaos turned ugly.

Seconds after the doors opened, something went dangerously wrong. Crazed Black Friday shoppers began piling up on each other.

"It went from controlled to a mob in less than five minutes and it just got nasty," said a shopper.

---

Related Stories:

>> Trampling victim speaks about terrifying ordeal

>>  Shoppers trampled by early-bird shoppers

>>  Shoppers wait overnight outside in Buffalo weather

>>  PHOTOS: Black Friday 2010 shopping madness

---

When officials heard the screams, they ran over right away to help.

Shopper Rich Mathewson said, "It was a lot of angry people just jumping in after we waited patiently for a long time. It actually started way before that, people started getting angry at everybody."

After it happened, one man bent over in pain but he took off into the North Buffalo Target store seconds later, along with everyone else. Seconds after the pile up, shoppers got back to business. News 4 called store officials to see if anyone was injured, but no one was available to comment.

Target released this response following the incident:
The safety of our guests and team members is a top priority. We take this incident very seriously. Target plans well in advance of Black Friday and employs numerous crowd management tactics to prevent incidents. We continually analyze and improve those plans, and will do so in this case, to help ensure a safe and enjoyable shopping experience.