Man robs EB store at gunpoint

By Ellie Gibson Published 22 November, 2005

He REALLY wanted an X360.

It's only been on sale since midnight and the Yanks are already going crazy for the Xbox 360, with many queuing for hours to get their hands on a console and some shops reporting that they've already sold out.

Some gamers have gone to even greater extremes - like the man who robbed an Electronics Boutique store in Stafford, Virginia in the early hours of this morning. According to US website GameSpot, he held the store manager up at gunpoint and ordered him to hand over two Xbox 360s. Presumably ones with hard drives.

Luckily no one was hurt in the incident, and police managed to apprehend the man shortly after he left the store.

Police were also called to the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania branch of Wal-Mart after shoppers waiting to pick up their consoles got rowdy. According to the Pennsylvania Times Leader, shoppers began queueing outside the store at 4pm. At around 11pm, said one eyewitness, people began "pushing and shoving" each other and police arrived on the scene.

They proceeded to hand out 48 vouchers which entitled the holders to return to the store at midnight and purchase their console, presumably on condition that they promised to behave themselves in the meantime.

Police sergeant Tom Elick told the Times Leader that there were no arrests, and that all those involved left the shop once the tickets had been handed out.

However, "We’re going to have officers patrol the store throughout the night," he said.

So can we expect to see similar scenes when the Xbox 360 launches here on December 2? Best set up that tent outside Dixons right now...

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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