Photo by Jim Davis. Shoppers line up at Best Buy in College Park before midnight on Thanksgiving Day. Some stood in line starting as early as 6 a.m. last Thursday.

Published on: Thursday, November 29, 2012

By Jim Davis

More than 500 shoppers waited hours in line Thanksgiving Day for the Best Buy in College Park to open its doors at midnight for Black Friday.

Carlos Mendz, of Wheaton, was one of the first to line up at 6 a.m. last Thursday to buy TVs, laptops and video games.

“You need to get here early for the savings,” he said.

Carmen Pizarro, of Beltsville, stood in line starting at 4 p.m. last Thursday for a Toshiba TV that was on sale, and the Best Buy general manager told Pizarro that he would make sure she got the TV she wanted.

Best Buy was one of many stores in Prince George’s County to open its doors at midnight. Some stores opened at 8 p.m. and others even earlier last Thursday.

Prince George’s County Police Department reported Friday morning there were no incidents regarding people standing in lines at shopping centers in the county, but about 100 protesters stood in front of the Walnart store at Capital Plaza  in Landover Hills protesting low wages and making employees work on Thanksgiving Day.

Prince George’s County Police would like to remind families out shopping this holiday season to put a name tag on their children’s coats with their name and a contact phone number in case the children get lost.