13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Indianapolis Toys R Us crowd turns rough

Indianapolis Toys R Us crowd turns rough

Indianapolis - Police were called when the spirit of Christmas turned a little nasty at the Castleton Toys R Us store.

A fight broke out around midnight in the parking lot as people lined up to get a shot at buying robotic hamsters called Zhu Zhu pets. The store manager says they usually sell out within about 10 minutes of putting them on shelves. Police also responded to the Toys R Us store in Greenwood for crowd control.

The lines outside Toys R Us at Castleton were especially long.

"We're letting people in 10-15 at a time. Go in nice and calm. We want to be safe," a store employee told the crowd as the doors opened.

But some just wanted in.

"Police are on the way. If you want to get arrested, that's fine," a man yelled at the surging crowd.

Even with police on scene, some didn't play nice.

"You need to be in line," the crowd was told.

"Some woman just stepped on my foot and pushed me out of the way!" a woman said angrily.

"I didn't know it would be this nightmare," said an unhappy-looking woman.

It was considerably less chaotic inside the state's largest mall.

"The bargains are great. It's worth coming out early to get the best stuff. Later it's picked over," said one shopper.

"I bought some nice mechanical gloves for my wife. It will be a big surprise at Christmas," said one man.

At 7:00 am, some shoppers were done for the day. One woman was headed home after scouring two malls and a handful of stores.

"I like the adrenalin rush, everyone going crazy in the stores," she admitted.