Gunfire erupted inside a busy Toys "R" Us store in Palm Desert Friday morning, leaving two men dead as shoppers scrambled for cover.According to a TV report I saw this whole thing started as a fight between two women, and then escalated when one guy pulled out a gun. Another gun was pulled by his opposite number and they managed to shoot each other to death.
The shooting, apparently sparked by a personal dispute between two groups of shoppers, occurred on Black Friday, traditionally one of the year's busiest shopping days, and when the store was crowded with families and children.
Store shootingShopper Sara Frahm, 25, of La Quinta said she was in the electronics department shopping for gifts for her 3-year-old daughter when she heard two women fighting and swearing in an aisle next to them. Other shoppers began yelling, "He has a gun!"
Her friend, April Aguilar, 24, spotted a man with a black handgun, near where the women were fighting. Employees were rushing to the area to try to break up the fight when one of the men started firing, Aguilar said.
They heard at least six or seven shots.
"This is horrible," Aguilar said. "I'm never shopping on Black Friday again."
Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez declined to release the names of the victim, nor did he know how many weapons had been recovered. Palm Desert Councilman Bob Spiegel said the men were killed in an exchange of gunfire.
Toys "R" Us officials released a statement saying they are "outraged by the act of violence . . . and by the fact that anyone would compromise the safety and security of our customers and employees."
"Our understanding is that this act seems to have been the result of a personal dispute between the individuals involved. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to associate the events of today with Black Friday," the statement said.
Sounds like karma won out.
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