HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The rules were laid out ahead of time and they were clear.
“The store is not yet open folks. If you run or run through there, they are going to eject you from the mall,” a uniformed Henrico Police officer warned Apple iPhone fans who waited outside Short Pump Town Center for the mall to open.
“No running. No pushing. No arguing with anyone,” a woman who appeared to be a member of mall security said as 6 a.m. approached. “I don’t know why you’re coming forward. Back up.”
Moments later, the mall opened and iPhone fans took off running to the Apple store.
“They said ‘no running!'” Jenn Stephens, who recorded the iPhone sprint, yelled. “Okay, I’ll run.”
Stephens said she too ended up running because she was in a rush to get to her brothers wedding and her phone was broken.
“Several people ran through a construction area with construction vehicles and got turned around,” she said. “I pre-ordered mine and Apple told me that even that line would go slow so to get there early.”
It is unclear if anyone was actually removed from mall property during the morning iPhone rush.
