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Old February 16th, 2005 #1
Sean Martin
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Default Stampede at opening of London IKEA store

Stampede at opening of London IKEA store
By MICHAEL MCDONOUGH
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER



Police cars are seen outside the new IKEA store in Edmonton, north London, which was forced to close due to overcrowding after less than an hour of trading in the early hours of Thursday Feb. 10, 2005. A man was stabbed and would-be bargain-hunters suffered heat exhaustion as a crowd of up to 6,000 forced the superstore to close on opening night. (AP Photo/PA, Johnny Green)

LONDON -- A man was stabbed and five other people were taken to hospital after thousands of customers caused a stampede at the midnight opening of a new IKEA furniture store in north London, British authorities said Thursday. The Swedish retailer expressed regret at the incident.

The stabbing victim, a man in his 20s, was attacked at around 1:30 a.m. near the IKEA store, a spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police said, adding that his condition did not appear life-threatening.

The new IKEA warehouse in the Edmonton district had been due to operate 24 hours to mark the opening, but shut until further notice after some 40 minutes because of the unexpectedly large crowds.

Some 6,000 people flocked to the Swedish furniture store, which had been offering special bargains including leather sofas for $84.

Many customers abandoned their vehicles in the middle of a major road near the shop and walked to the store, causing severe traffic jams, police said. In addition to the stabbing victim, one patient was taken to hospital with chest pains and four others were treated for minor injuries, a London Ambulance Service spokesman said.

IKEA said it had opened 12 other stores in Britain before and was stunned by the Edmonton stampede.

"IKEA could never have predicted and are genuinely overwhelmed at the outcome of the evening and the consequences that the opening of a home furnishing retailer has had," the retailer said in a statement.
The store was forced to close 41 minutes after it opened, an IKEA spokeswoman said.

Assistant Divisional Officer William Bird, of the London Fire Service, said he had never seen anything like the crush before.
"It was extraordinary and to a certain extent unexpected," Bird told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "There were crush injuries and people suffering from shock from the pushing and shoving."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nation...KEA%20Stampede
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Old February 16th, 2005 #2
Harry Flash
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Idiots. Can't wait to spend all their money on cheap put together furniture they don't need. Classic stupidity.
 
Old February 16th, 2005 #3
heaven above
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I thought it was funny as hell

That area just off the M1 and North Circular Road, Brent is FULL of wogs and niggers.

Apparently the shop staff shit themselves, literally.

Wonder where our wonderful police force were ?
 
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