Violent Stampede Results From Mad Rush to Buy Used Laptops

The Henrico County school system in Richmond, Virginia, had 1,000 used Apple iBook laptop computers they decided to sell to county residents. News of the impending sale was quite exciting to locals, because new iBook computers sell for $999 to $1,299 or more, and the school system had announced they would be selling the laptops for only $50. People began lining up outside the Richmond International Raceway as early as 1:30 a.m. hoping to get their hands on one of the 4-year old laptops, and by the time officials appeared to open the gates at 7:00 a.m., there were about 5,500 people waiting quietly with baited breath.

One of the people waiting in line was Blandine Alexander, 33, who had brought her 14-year old twin boys to the sports complex at 4:30 a.m. to take their place in line. Alexander says that one of the women ahead of her in line was so desperate not to lose her spot in line that she wet her pants rather than leave the line to go to the bathroom. "I've never been in something like that before, and I never again will," said Alexander, who was shocked and horrified by the callousness of the people and the nightmarish outcome of her wait in line. "No matter what the kids want, I already told them I'm not doing that again."

The moment the gates opened, all patience and anticipation evaporated instantly as the line of people became a stampede of terrifying proportions. Throngs of people pushed forward, screaming and throwing themselves into each other. According to witnesses, an elderly man was thrown to the pavement with people stepping on him in their attempts to get ahead of others, and another man tried to drive his car through the crowd to get to the front of the throng. A little girl’s stroller was crushed as the violent swarm swept over it. One woman limped around on the sizzling blacktop with one bare foot, having lost her other sandal in the total chaos of the melee. The violence didn’t end until about 1:00 p.m., when the last iBook was sold and the remaining residents were turned away.

Seventeen people suffered minor injuries in the rampage, including four who required treatment at a local hospital. According to the Henrico County sheriff’s department, there were no arrests despite the aggressive assaults people used to fight their way to the front before the laptops sold out. One of those aggressive people was Jesse Sandler, 20, who picked up the folding chair he had been sitting on and used it to pound people back when they tried to cut in front of him in line. Seemingly proud of his success at securing one of the cheap laptops, Sandler nonchalantly said, "I took my chair here and I threw it over my shoulder and I went, 'Bam.'" With his gaze fixed on the screen of his new iBook, tapping away on the keyboard, he tried to justify his actions. "They were getting in front of me and I was there a lot earlier than them, so I thought that it was just," he said.

Paul Proto, director of general services for Henrico County, also seemed nonplussed by the horrible turn the event took as regular people turned into monsters in a matter of minutes. "It's rather strange that we would have such a tremendous response for the purchase of a laptop computer—and laptop computers that probably have less-than-desirable attributes," said Proto. "But I think that people tend to get caught up in the excitement of the event—it almost has an entertainment value." Entertainment value? Try telling that to the people Jesse Sandler beat with his metal chair, and ask them how entertaining it was for them.