A riot broke out at a Burlington Coat Factory in Ohio after a woman lied about paying for everyone’s items.
Linda Brown pulled up to the store in a rented Hummer limo. She then announced to everyone in the store that she had won the lottery and wanted to pay for everyone’s merchandise up to $500.
People started grabbing up everything in sight and flooding the check-out stations with purchases. Some even phoned relatives and told them to come down to the store.
About 500 people went on a shopping spree while another 1,000 or so waited outside. Store managers say that she paid for about $5,000 in merchandise with a debit card before her limit was reached.
The woman then said she was returning to the bank to get more money but by 3 p.m., police announced that the shopping spree was over and turned the crowds away.
Customers began rioting, throwing merchandise on the ground or running off with stolen clothes.
“Everybody was like, ‘I still want my free stuff,’ and that started the riot,” said Detective Steven Nace. “It looks like (Hurricane) Katrina went through the store.”
Once the limo driver realized he wasn’t going to get paid, he turned Brown in to police. She had outstanding warrants for aggravated menacing, misuse of a 911 system and causing false alarms. Charges in this incident, however, have been delayed pending a psychiatric evaluation.
Authorities will attempt to track down customers who stole clothing by reviewing surveillance video.
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- Lottery Hoaxer Causes Riot in Coat Store (abcnews.go.com)
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