stevew
11-27-2007, 03:21 PM
WAUWATOSA, Wis. -- A weekend melee at a Kmart store in Wauwatosa was started by a computer glitch.
The store was running a promotion to give away $10 to anyone applying for its credit card, but the computer glitch led to everyone's application being approved, giving up to $4,000 in instant credit to anyone who applied, even if they shouldn't have qualified.
Once word started to spread about the so-called "free money" Saturday, witnesses said, things started to go wild inside the Wauwatosa store, WISN-TV in Milwaukee reported.
"They were having a big fight. Two ladies was jumping a lady over credit cards," witness Sylvester Wilson said.
Nearly a dozen Wauwatosa squad cars responded to the call just before 11 a.m. Saturday.
"It was a nice brawl. It came from inside to outside. If you go up there, you'll see hair, earrings, all pulled out on the ground," Wilson said.
What started as a fight between two women in the crowded store evolved when several men intervened.
A store employee got punched in the nose and crashed through a glass display case. He was treated for a broken nose and various cuts.
A 22-year-old man and a 16-year-old teenager were arrested and accused of battery.
Meantime, Kmart were trying to clear up the credit card mess.
Two employees confirmed for police that anyone who applied was given instant credit -- from $850 up to $4,000. They also told police that people started calling other people to the store for so-called "free money." The store ran out of credit applications.
One witness told police someone went to another Kmart, got some applications there and was selling them in the Wauwatosa Kmart parking lot for $20 apiece.
Kmart would not comment on how many people got the credit cards who shouldn't have or how much merchandise they were able to buy with them.
The store did put a stop to it, though. There are signs on the door saying the store is not processing credit card applications at this time.
Citibank, which issues the Kmart cards, did not return calls asking if this happened nationwide.
A corporate relations person for Sears said he could not talk about the specific incident but said it was not a national problem. Sears Holding Co. is the parent company of Kmart and Sears.
Charges for the suspects in custody could be issued Tuesday.
The store was running a promotion to give away $10 to anyone applying for its credit card, but the computer glitch led to everyone's application being approved, giving up to $4,000 in instant credit to anyone who applied, even if they shouldn't have qualified.
Once word started to spread about the so-called "free money" Saturday, witnesses said, things started to go wild inside the Wauwatosa store, WISN-TV in Milwaukee reported.
"They were having a big fight. Two ladies was jumping a lady over credit cards," witness Sylvester Wilson said.
Nearly a dozen Wauwatosa squad cars responded to the call just before 11 a.m. Saturday.
"It was a nice brawl. It came from inside to outside. If you go up there, you'll see hair, earrings, all pulled out on the ground," Wilson said.
What started as a fight between two women in the crowded store evolved when several men intervened.
A store employee got punched in the nose and crashed through a glass display case. He was treated for a broken nose and various cuts.
A 22-year-old man and a 16-year-old teenager were arrested and accused of battery.
Meantime, Kmart were trying to clear up the credit card mess.
Two employees confirmed for police that anyone who applied was given instant credit -- from $850 up to $4,000. They also told police that people started calling other people to the store for so-called "free money." The store ran out of credit applications.
One witness told police someone went to another Kmart, got some applications there and was selling them in the Wauwatosa Kmart parking lot for $20 apiece.
Kmart would not comment on how many people got the credit cards who shouldn't have or how much merchandise they were able to buy with them.
The store did put a stop to it, though. There are signs on the door saying the store is not processing credit card applications at this time.
Citibank, which issues the Kmart cards, did not return calls asking if this happened nationwide.
A corporate relations person for Sears said he could not talk about the specific incident but said it was not a national problem. Sears Holding Co. is the parent company of Kmart and Sears.
Charges for the suspects in custody could be issued Tuesday.