“Black Friday” is the day after Thanksgiving. It marks the start of the Christmas shopping season and is one of the busiest shopping days of the year–when retailers look to big holiday-season sales to push their books into the black. This year “Black Friday” took on a different meaning after a 34 year-old worker at Wal-Mart in Long Island, New York was trampled to death by a stampede of shoppers.

More than 2,000 people had started lining up late Thursday night at the Wal-Mart in Valley Stream where DVDs, flat-panel television sets and many other products were discounted to attract crowds of bargain-hunters.

Jdimytai Damour was working as a maintenance man at Wal-Mart for the holidays. He had been trying to hold back the crowd of shoppers pressing against the store’s sliding-glass double doors. Just before the store’s scheduled 5 a.m. opening the doors shattered under the weight of the crowd. Damour–who is a big man, 270 pounds by some accounts–was thrown to the floor. Hundreds of rampaging shoppers stepped over, around and on him as they rushed into the store. He was pronounced dead just after 6am.

The Nassau County police said they were trying to determine what happened during the stampede, but said it was unclear if there would be any criminal charges. Patrick Purcell is the Director of Special Projects for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 which has called for an immediate investigation into Dmour"s death. Savitri D. is the director of the Church of Stop Shopping, led by Reverend Billy who has long called for Black Friday to be turned into “Buy Nothing Day.”

Patrick Purcell, Director of Special Projects for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500. The UFCW Local 1500 has called for an immediate investigation by Federal, State and Local authorities into the death of Wal-mart worker Jdimytai Dmour at the Valley Stream, Long Island Wal-mart on Black Friday.

Savitri D., Savitri Durkee who goes by the name Savitri D. is the director of the Church of Stop Shopping, led by Reverend Billy.

Related Links

• The Church of Stop Shopping

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