Early Kmart sale causes kerfuffle

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Police and store security had to be called in when a scuffle erupted at a south side Kmart early Thursday morning.

The disturbance at the Kmart store at 2715 S. Madison Ave., occurred just as store employees were getting ready to open their doors at 6 a.m.

Those who waited in line overnight became upset when some of their fellow shoppers decided to make some money off the limited vouchers they had been given by the store.   Only a few vouchers were handed out for selected items like large flat screen televisions.

“Everybody started going crazy about it, and then the cops got called in and it just became a madhouse,” one early-bird shopper, who witnessed what happened, told 24-Hour News 8.

The vouchers allowed shoppers to purchase hot selling items at greatly reduced prices. A 42-inch plasma HDTV which regularly sells for nearly $450 could be purchased for just under $200 with the voucher.

Tempers flared when some of the shoppers with vouchers began selling their vouchers for a profit while others who had also waited in line all night weren't able to get vouchers for the "door buster" deals.

“We did have some customers a little upset because they didn’t get the ticket that (they) wanted,” Kmart store manager Thomas Lanser said.

Police escorted shoppers who created the disturbance from the premises. According to police there were no arrests and no injuries.