make WWAY your homepage  Become a fan on facebook  Follow us on twitter  Receive RSS Newsfeeds  MEMBERS: Register | Login

Law enforcement: Wal-Mart rumor is urban legend

Submitted by WWAY on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 6:23pm.READ MORE: Law enforcement: Wal-Mart rumor is urban legend
SHALLOTTE -- Rumors about gang initiation rituals that target women are circulating in Columbus and Brunswick Counties. Every person NewsChannel 3 asked told a different version of this rumored ritual. The basic premise is that gang initiates need to kidnap and harm a single white woman in a parking lot or gas station in order to become members. Law enforcement officials in Columbus County called this an urban legend. They said the rumors about such incidents have been flying around their area for the past two years. They said they've never responded to such a call. On the other hand, law enforcement officials in Shallotte said that Columbus County advised them to keep an eye on their Wal-Marts. Police Chief Rodney Gause says he's not taking the concerns lightly. "At this point in time what we've received is rumor, but we are stepping up in all our parking lots in all our businesses, especially Wal-Mart, Belks and some other stores. But the only thing we've done is step up high visibility, making sure we're walking employees from the store to their vehicles at night, and patrolling the parking lot." Gause says he's not too worried about the rumors -- but it's better to be safe than sorry. The popular urban legend web site snopes.com notes a similar ritual known as Wal-Martyred. It applies to gang initiates in the Memphis area killing a woman and small child at a Wal-Mart. Snopes.com says the rumor that such a thing happens is false.

Disclaimer: Comments posted on this, or any story are opinions of those people posting them, and not the views or opinions of WWAY NewsChannel 3, its management or employees. You can view our comment policy here.

»

As to the Walmart vs Costco

Submitted by Susan_R (not verified) on Fri, 01/11/2008 - 7:02am.
As to the Costco vs. Walmart, I am sure Costco can afford to pay thier employees 'supposedly more,' if Walmart used eminent domain to confiscate private lands after pressuring and greasing local polictians as many times. Then having the gall to ask for further tax breaks. In the end, taxpayers pay for those higher wages and benefits just as Walmart drops their lack medical benefits on society. No difference. Except, that one stabs you from the front and the other from the back. This Scumco (Costco) P.R. crap from thier impoverished CEO (who lives next to Steve Balimer and Billy Gates), to their wealthy employees who drive Ford Focuses because they want to...ridulous.
»

As to the Costco vs.

Submitted by susan_l (not verified) on Fri, 01/11/2008 - 6:57am.
As to the Costco vs. Walmart, I am sure Costco can afford to pay thier employees 'supposedly more,' if Walmart used eminent domain to confiscate private lands after pressuring and greasing local polictians as many times. Then having the gall to ask for further tax breaks. In the end, taxpayers pay for those higher wages and benefits just as Walmart drops their lack medical benefits on society. No difference. Except, that one stabs you from the front and the other from the back. This Scumco (Costco) P.R. crap from thier impoverished CEO (who lives next to Steve Balimer and Billy Gates), to their wealthy employees who drive Ford Focuses because they want to...ridulous.
»

China mart

Submitted by Guest West (not verified) on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 12:10pm.
Why does our local Market street China-Mart have one of the highest crime ratings in the country? Is it maybe that the gang surge in activity in the local areas has become a problem as well? I like to save a buck as much as anyone, but I would rather feel good about supporting the locals that compete with China-Mart and also feel a bit safer going there. Plus, they have all become a haven for the illegals in the area and the big, fat, government supporting losers to shop at. God bless the souls that are at least brave enough to work at one of those stores. They are trying to better themselves unlike a large portion of the customer base. And to those that disagree and will respond, truth hurts doesn't it!?!
»

The High Cost of Low Prices

Submitted by hmmunion (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 7:05pm.
The call to unionize comment is humerous but not far from the truth... If you get a chance, whatch Wal Mart: The high cost of low prices... It may just open your eyes. And Wal Mart (as reported last year on either a 20/20 or Dateline special) Wal Mart does have an anti-union staff. One word about employees wanting to form a union (which would only benefit the employees to an extent.. and raise the Wal Mart prices to only become competitive with higher priced Mom and Pop stores thus hurting my wallet)..Anyway.. one mention of this and Wal Mart has this anti-union team fly out to their store and "educate " their employees... Regardless... Pretty darn' un-American......
»

Walmart Killing

Submitted by Gut Wrench (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 3:53pm.
It is an urban legend from over two years ago. Here is the story on Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/crime/gangs/memphis.asp#update
»

WAL MART EMPLOYEES UNIONZE

Submitted by Unionize (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 3:41pm.
If youare a Wal Mart employee form a union.. That'l but big corporate in their place ! (Plus it will give yo a raise, better salaries and then more competition which will drive or consumer prices down........) Watch out for the anti-union department at Wal Mart though that will fly out to put a stop to your efforts !!
»

message to "unionize"

Submitted by slopokeGuest (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 6:17pm.
Stupid is as stupid does!!!
»

skipped class

Submitted by guesty on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 6:04pm.
Somebody has been skipping their E.S.L. night classes again!!!
»

English

Submitted by chief6309 (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 5:08pm.
Your efforts above might be somewhat more compelling if you had taken the time in high school to pay attention in english class. You sound in your writing as though english is your recently learned third language. Learn a little grammer.
»

Yeah! "grammer" is almost as

Submitted by can't resist (not verified) on Wed, 01/02/2008 - 12:48am.
Yeah! "grammer" is almost as important as spelling.
»

He might also crack open an economics textbook

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 5:46pm.
I find it fascinating that he believes higher employee salaries and benefits will lead to lower prices for consumers....and how in the world could anyone believe that Wal-Mart has no competition? Did Target, Costco, Best-buy, Food Lion, Big Lots, and a hundred other corporations suddenly go out of business? I'm grateful, however, that he proved my earlier point about economic ignorance.
»

costco vs walmart

Submitted by mo common cents (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 8:29pm.
who was is it that things you have to beat your employees to sell goods at a low price? Costco contributes generously to its workers' 401(k) plans, starting with 3 percent of salary the second year and rising to 9 percent after 25 years. ITS insurance plans absorb most dental expenses, and part-time workers are eligible for health insurance after just six months on the job, compared with two years at Wal-Mart. Eighty-five percent of Costco's workers have health insurance, compared with less than half at Wal-Mart and Target. Costco also has not shut out unions, as some of its rivals have. The Teamsters union, for example, represents 14,000 of Costco's 113,000 employees. "They gave us the best agreement of any retailer in the country," said Rome Aloise, the union's chief negotiator with Costco. The contract guarantees employees at least 25 hours of work a week, he said, and requires that at least half of a store's workers be full time. If Costco can do it why can't Walmart? Costco's average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam's Club. Despite Costco's impressive record, Mr. Sinegal's salary is just $350,000, although he also received a $200,000 bonus last year. That puts him at less than 10 percent of many other chief executives, though Costco ranks 29th in revenue among all American companies. Walmart paid their CEO 5.3 million dollars. CEO H. Lee Scott got a stock bonus worth $22 million, the employees got nothing.
»

Chart Wal-Mart and Costco stock performance

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 11:59am.
Go to Yahoo, or any of the fine financial sites available, and chart the performance of Wal-Mart v. Costco over the past twenty years. Costco stock has seen a 500% gain. Wal-Mart has seen a 1500% gain. You will note, however, that Costco is gaining at a faster clip over the past five years. That's because consumers eventually get tired of the status quo. K-Mart got it's fanny kicked by Wal-Mart. Now, Wal-Mart is seeing increased competition from Target, Costco, etc. Eventually, Wal-Mart will be in decline and find themselves in trouble, just as K-Mart was before their restructuring. Consumers always want something new and bold. Above all, they want to save money. Sam Walton had a new idea and it worked. It saved Americans trillions of dollars, and made many, many people wealthy....but sooner or later, someone will come along with a better idea. That's what's great about America. Wal-Mart doesn't HAVE to do what Costco does, and you're free to shop at Costco or Wal-Mart.
»

Here is yet another reason I

Submitted by Scally Wagg on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 7:04am.
Here is yet another reason I do not shop at Wal Mart
»

walmart

Submitted by Das Weibstück on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 2:14pm.
I don't shop there either. NOT because of this rumor but because the company as a whole blows.
»

You obviously have more time than sense...

Submitted by Laughing (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 2:11pm.
Your comments aren't worth the pecks on your keyboard. This story has nothing to do with why someone would not shop at Wal-Mart. This could happen anywhere. The reason for covering the story was in spark of a growing response of questions on it to the news by local residents. These rumors have been escalating for weeks. Oh, and I guess this supposed rumor would be a reason for you not to go anywhere!
»

because of what? An urban

Submitted by Guest buckets (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 11:40am.
because of what? An urban myth proven to be untrue, thats the reason you don't shop at Walmart?
»

Yet ANOTHER reason I don't

Submitted by Scally Wagg on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 3:54pm.
Yet ANOTHER reason I don't shop at WalMart, ANOTHER being the operative word in the sentence. Try reading comments thoroughly or using a dictionary before replying on comments.
»

My point was, why would this

Submitted by Guest scallys an idiot (not verified) on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 4:48pm.
My point was, why would this urban legend factor into your decision to shop at Wal-Mart in any way shape or form?? There is no truth to it whatsoever, and in reality Wal-Mart parking lots are among the safest you will find. Whatever issues you have with Wal-Mart, I’m not criticizing, but this idiotic notion that people shouldn't shop there because a gang member might sneak into their unlocked car and wait to murder them is just asinine.
»

saftey

Submitted by Das Weibstück on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 6:08pm.
"Wal-Mart parking lots are among the safest you will find." Well what rock do you live under? I disagree with that statement from personal experiences and those of several of my friends. One had her car stolen from the parking lot Christmas eve. Mine was backed into by an 18 wheeler, two had there cars broken into.......all under the watchful eye of security cameras that "did not work". In my case the camera disappeared completely the next day (the cop that made my report even saw the camera 30 feet from my wrecked car and made note of it), and/or the videos were misplaced. Wal-mart does not have cameras to protect YOU they are there to protect Wal-mart. You are not safe there, it is not one of the safer places to be. One reason being the lower class people that shop there and that all the Wal-marts are on the bus route.
»

Excuse me....your majesty?

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 12:18pm.
Thanks for writing the following. It will insure that I am no longer thought of as the most elite, arrogant aristocrat on the boards. (Well....for a while, anyway...) "the lower class people that shop there" Das, a lot of poor people shop at Wal-Mart because they have to. I assure you that a lot of classy, well-educated and wealthy people do as well, simply because they appreciate saving money. Many of them got where they are by watching the pennies.
»

Bow when you write that

Submitted by Das Weibstück on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 1:00pm.
Man, I hit a nerve. I apologize. Let me correct myself. SOME of shoppers are low class (not monetarily) that shop there. You know what I am talking about. They run in all ethnic backgrounds. I love saving money too. I did all my Christmas shopping online this year. I did well. I am British so I am closer to being "your majesty" than you think.
»

HRH Das

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 4:07pm.
Rest assured that when you wrote that you were one of Her Majesty's loyal subjects, you climbed several notches in my eyes. Unfortunately, this...this....shameless cavorting with Scally at Mayfaire has reduced you to the level of a plotting Spaniard or Frenchman. (SIGH!) I would have been great at court.....Commonsensenotcommontoday.....Earl of Leicester....Queen Bess would have married me.... ...but alas, born four-hundred years too late and condemned to a life of cheap underwear and velcro shoes....
»

If so, that doesn't change

Submitted by Guest this guys a dummy, straight up (not verified) on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 11:43am.
If so, that doesn't change the point. This is an urban MYTH, has absolutly NO TRUTH WHATSOVEVER to it. I'm not a spokesperson for Wal-mart, they have good prices but I have no love or loyalty to them and I don't really care how they conduct business. My point was your a moron for even commenting that a story cooked up about gang members sneaking in your car and shooting you in the face would in any way shape impact your decision to shop at Wal-mart. Just an idiotic comment, period.
»

to: this guys a dummy

Submitted by Das Weibstück on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 7:18pm.
I sent in a nice comment for you but it appears to have been too "nice" so it was not posted. Censorship? How can that be when they post the ones like "God hates whites and burns them with the sun"???? W/E you have not earned the right to call us names. You are not even registered. You better hurry and get your Christmas shopping done Dear, Wal-mart is closed Xmas day.
»

Wal-Mart Haters

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 3:15pm.
Most Wal-Mart haters suffer from a basic lack of economic knowledge. They don't understand that the trillions (literally) of dollars Wal-Mart shoppers have saved are funneled back into the economy and help a broad array of businesses and industries. Now there are some who truly weep bitter tears because we no longer have the option of paying $4.00 too much for a package of undershirts manufactured by ILGWU employees at a mill in Greesboro, but they should blame the union and economic reality more than Wal-Mart. Big-box stores are just one piece of the global trade picture. The principal underlying cause for the collapse of American textiles and light manufacturing is that we priced ourselves right out of the global market. If you can import a product that is as good a quality as the one I make and still sell it for less, I have two options: Drop my price or close my doors. Still others bemoan Wal-Mart using so much part-time help to skirt requirements for insurance and other benefits. They obviously aren't aware that the Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude. Every single worker at Wal-Mart is free to leave at any time and seek employment elsewhere. For some reason, most choose not to. Most Wal-Mart haters exist at one of the opposite poles on the political spectrum. They are either a potential recruit for John Edwards' Band of Merry Men ("It's not your money, it's OUR money") or Ron Paul's "Let's hermetically seal the United States and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist" mob. Either way, you can bet that they're a bit screwy....
»

Walmart

Submitted by Economics (not verified) on Wed, 01/02/2008 - 8:06pm.
I think perhaps you should take a course in economics if you think Walmart is helping your community. It is a matter of public record that Walmart employees are treated terribly and most are eligible for Welfare or some form of public assistance. Please research Walmart before you go backing them.
»

Where do you think....

Submitted by Uncle Reality on Thu, 01/03/2008 - 9:23am.
...the trillions of dollars that Wal-Mart has saved American consumers has gone? It's been spent elsewhere, saved, invested, paid for college tuition, bought Porterhouse instead of Chuck, bought Timmy the new bicycle he wanted, etc. So for every miserable, underpaid Wal-Mart employee, there are a few thousand Americans who have saved a LOT of money by shopping at Wal-Mart. BTW, I believe that any Wal-Mart employee who doesn't like his or her job is free to move on down the road, and find a horse that their saddle fits. They haven't repealed the Thirteenth Amendment, have they?
»

common

Submitted by Das Weibstück on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 5:59pm.
I take offence to the "bit screwy" remark. Who are you too say why we decide NOT to shop at Wal-mart. Is it some redneck unwritten law that because we live near one that we must shop there? What does our political stance have to do with anything ? Perhaps it is because we have more income to spend on nicer quality things and do not need the inferior products there. Perhaps we worked there for a few years and saw it all first hand (if you knew just how much the employee's belittle the customers maybe you wouldn't walk in there either). "basic lack of economic knowledge." Just a little note to you. You do not know everything though your writing skills rock. You really do not know it all. Kisskiss
»

Das, if you don't shop at Wal-Mart....

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 11:45am.
...because you simply dislike the store, that's fine. You'll note that I said MOST of the Wal-Mart haters were crackpots. There are many people, I'm sure, who simply dislike the crowds and subsequent parking nightmare. There are lots of establishments that I don't patronize because I don't like something about the store. I'm talking about the true Wal-Mart HATERS, the ones who are comvinced that the republic will fall because of Wal-Mart. The ones who lose sleep because Wal-Mart is anti-union. (In my book, that's one of their shining traits!) I have to take issue with your claim of inferior merchandise, however. As another poster pointed out, the Sony TV you buy at Wal-Mart is identical to the Sony TV you buy at any other store. The protein bars I buy at Wal-Mart are identical to the protein bars I buy at Food Lion, but each are forty cents cheaper. The underwear I bought at Wal-Mart has lasted just as long as the underwear I bought at Belks. Thanks for the kind compliment you wrote about my writing skills... ....but don't ever kiss me again..... ....and I look forward to the day when the light shines and you realize, "My God! He really DOES know it all!" (Scally Wagg already accepts it.)
»
12next ›last »