When the national news media reports (very carefully!) on an incident like this, we all know why. See video.
Awoman being driven around in a rented limousine pulled up at a coatstore and announced she’d won the lottery and would pay for everyone’spurchases, police said, but she ended up causing a riot when customersrealized it was a hoax.
Angry customers threw merchandise around and looted, leaving the storelooking as though a hurricane had passed through it, police said.
Linda Brown was arrested Tuesday after an hours-long shopping spreethat began when she hired a stretch Hummer limousine to drop her off ata Burlington Coat Factory store, police Sgt. Lt. Michael Deakins said.Brown walked to a cash register and loudly announced she had won thelottery and would pay for each person’s merchandise up to $500, he said.
“Well, of course, people like to hear that,” Deakins said. “Apparentlythey were in line calling relatives who were not at the store and toldthem to come.”
People flooded the registers as cashiers began ringing up purchaseafter purchase, but Brown had not yet paid the bill, Deakins said. Atleast 500 people filled the aisles and another 1,000 were outsidetrying to get in, he said.
“She was telling people she won $1.5 million,” Deakins said. “But itends up she didn’t win anything. She had no money to pay for anything.”
About an hour later, Brown had the limousine driver take her to a bankto withdraw money, but she returned empty-handed, police DetectiveSteven Nace said. By then, store employees had called in two dozenpolice officers to handle the crowds.