Black Friday: Man threatens to stab shoppers at K-Mart sale

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Black Friday got off to a troubling start at a South Sacramento K-Mart when a shopper allegedly threatened to stab people waiting in line for door-buster deals, police said.

A line of hundreds had started wrapping the building on Stockton Boulevard since 2 a.m. police told Fox 40.

Once store workers came out to give vouchers to people in line, some in the crowd began yelling, cutting and screaming obscenities. That’s when one man threatened to stab others, police said.

PHOTOS: Black Friday shopping hunt for deals starts earlier this year

Shoppers were eventually let into the store without incident, police said.

At Southern California stores, no major incidents have been reported.

Los Angeles police officers will be out in force at retail locations throughout the city to try to keep the peace among over-eager Black Friday shoppers.

The department plans to deploy dozens of extra officers to make sure frantic shoppers don’t get out of hand.

‘For some people, shopping is a competitive sport,’ LAPD Commander Andy Smith said. ‘But it should not be a contact sport.’

Black Friday misbehavior, though it attracts attention, is relatively rare. Police report a smattering of brawls, assaults and larcenies each year. A few years ago, gunfire erupted in a crowded Palm Desert Toys R Us, killing two people.

This year, the LAPD said it will be prepared. Helicopters will buzz above some shopping centers, and a cavalry of police officers will patrol on bikes and horses. From store rooftops, officers will scan the crowds below looking for unruly behavior.

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--A Times Staff Writer

Janet Blackmon Morgan / Associated Press Photo.