Fights break out at Apple store in Pasadena with iPhone release
Fights have broken out at the Pasadena Apple store leading to at least two arrests Friday morning as hundreds lined up in anticipation of the new iPhone 5S and 5C release.
Police arrested George Westbrook, 23, of Compton and Lamar Mitchell, 43, of Pasadena for fighting in line outside of the store, Pasadena Police Lt. Jason Clawson said.
The store hired two Pasadena police officers to keep control of the crowd, he said.
About 9 a.m., another scuffle was breaking out as one man left the store with multiple phones, Clawson said. People whom the man hired to stand in line for him began fighting with him because they said they weren’t being paid enough, Clawson said.
Clawson estimated at least 200 people were outside of the store Friday morning waiting for it to open.
The newest edition of Apple’s iconic phone is being released in various colors, including gold. Consumers also have the option of buying the less-expensive iPhone 5c with a plastic case. For the first time ever, the phones are being released in China on the same day they were made available everywhere else.
Airdate: 09/20/2013
iPhone fever has turned to choas. Fights broke out at the Apple store in Pasadena, California, as the new iPhone 5 went on sale. Two women
were filmed wrestling on the sidewalk.
The incidents were just part of the bizarre scene at that store. One local guy reportedly hired 100 or so homeless people to wait in line so he could buy as many of the new iPhones as he could.
Tempers flared even before the doors of the store opened. Regular customers waited with the homeless people. Some men were arrested. Then the women started going at it. One guy had to be restrained by three cops.
The guy who brought homeless people to the store had to be escorted to safety by cops. He was still clutching a handful of iPhones, which he told INSIDE EDITION that he was planning to sell at a profit.
There were big lines at Apple stores all over the country. INSIDE EDITION's Diane McInerney was at the flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City where she got a hands-on look at the new phones.
She said, "They come in a rainbow of colors, but they're not cheap. The 5s, which has all the latest bells and whistles, starts at $650 without a contract. The cheaper, 5c is still a hefty $550."
But the price tag doesn't seem to be fazing fans.
The phone-frenzy surrounding the release of the hotly-anticipated new iPhones led hundreds of thousands to wait outside Apple stores for days.
were filmed wrestling on the sidewalk.The incidents were just part of the bizarre scene at that store. One local guy reportedly hired 100 or so homeless people to wait in line so he could buy as many of the new iPhones as he could.
Tempers flared even before the doors of the store opened. Regular customers waited with the homeless people. Some men were arrested. Then the women started going at it. One guy had to be restrained by three cops.
The guy who brought homeless people to the store had to be escorted to safety by cops. He was still clutching a handful of iPhones, which he told INSIDE EDITION that he was planning to sell at a profit.
There were big lines at Apple stores all over the country. INSIDE EDITION's Diane McInerney was at the flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City where she got a hands-on look at the new phones
.She said, "They come in a rainbow of colors, but they're not cheap. The 5s, which has all the latest bells and whistles, starts at $650 without a contract. The cheaper, 5c is still a hefty $550."
But the price tag doesn't seem to be fazing fans.
The phone-frenzy surrounding the release of the hotly-anticipated new iPhones led hundreds of thousands to wait outside Apple stores for days.
On Friday, one guy said, “I got here Wednesday morning."
Another said, "I got here September 6."
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