Riot
at new Ikea store
Cops battles to stop a RIOT last night at the opening of
an IKEA furniture store.
Dozens of officers were backed up by fire engines and ambulances
as tempers raged in Edmonton, North London. One women lost
consciousness and many more were injured.
Thousands turned up to grab special offers, like a sofa
for £45.
As the Swedish- owned store flung open its doors at midnight
the crowd surged in. Terrified staff had to bolt the doors
again after just half an hour.
Customers, many who had queued for 13 hours, were furious
at missing the giveaway. Some tried to smash doors open.
Others tried in vain to escape the crush. Those inside battled
over furniture.
Kirk Rutter, 33, from Dagenham, Essex,said It was
a stampede. They were like animals. I saw women punching
women and men threatening children.
In the panic many abandoned their cars on the A406 to get
to the store. A police spokesman said: The numbers
who turned up far exceeded expectations.
A man in his early 20s was stabbed in a car park close to
the store, in an apparently unrelated incident. It is not
thought he had been attending the opening.
Last September three men were trampled to death in a stampede
when IKEA opened in Saudi Arabia.
Extracted from the The Sun
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