Walmart has issued the following statement regarding an incident in which a 34-year-old male employee was trampled to death by shoppers who broke down the doors of the Valley Stream store in Long Island, N.Y., around 5 a.m. on Black Friday:

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“We expected a large crowd [Friday] morning and added additional internal security, additional third-party security, additional store associates, and we worked closely with the Nassau County Police. We also erected barricades. Despite all of our precautions, this unfortunate event occurred.”

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"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the deceased. We are continuing to work closely with local law enforcement and we are reaching out to those involved."

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<em>Hank Mullany, Senior Vice President and President, Northeast Division, Walmart U.S.</em>