Woman Pepper-Sprays Rival Shoppers at Walmart

Pepper spray isn’t just for subduing protesters—it also can help you snag some sweet Black Friday deals. A woman at a Los Angeles-area Walmart sprayed her fellow customers several times last night, in what police deemed an act of “competitive shopping,” the LA Times reports. “She was trying to use it to gain an upper hand,” one police lieutenant said. Twenty people suffered minor injuries, according to the AP, and police are still looking for the sprayer.

The carnage began around 9:55, when customers waiting to buy X-Boxes got into a shoving match, and someone ripped the plastic off a palette of the consoles early—the sale was supposed to start at 10. “I heard screaming and I heard yelling,” one customer says. “Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up.” The woman went on to use the spray in several other parts of the store, which was packed with unruly shoppers. “It was absolutely crazy,” the customer says. See scenes from elsewhere here. (More Black Friday stories.)