First Toy Store Melee Reported In Connecticut

The crowd waiting at the doors of the Toys R Us in Manchester, Conn., burning up with Black Friday fever, grew impatient. Shortly before the store opened at midnight, a group of people tried to jump the line and get through the doors. The store didn’t open until nearly an hour later–and after twenty police officers got the crowd under control.

Outside Manchester’s Toys R Us just before midnight, a large crowd tried to jump the line and rush the door at the scheduled opening. When a police officer told them to stop, they taunted him.

Eventually, 20 officers from Manchester, South Windsor, East Hartford and the state police managed the line. Police made sure managers did not open the Toys R Us store until the crowd formed into orderly lines — at 12:55 a.m.

No actual violence ensued. This time.

Midnight Scene At Toys R Us: Parents Overcome Hardship, Police Control Crowds [Hartford Courant] (Thanks, Dennis!)

(Photo: Kevin Michael Dwyer)

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