Toy store scare

last updated 8 January 2015

New York

Three thousand panicked shoppers stampeded out of a massive Toys R Us store in New York City’s Times Square this week after someone released pepper spray in an elevator. “All of a sudden everybody was coughing and sneezing,” said shopper Chrissy Wells, 35. “It was chaos.” Seven people were sent to the hospital with breathing problems and irritated eyes. Shoppers said they were afraid they had been caught in a terrorist attack, but police said the incident appeared to have been a prank. “Who has that sick of a sense of humor to ruin Christmas?” said shopper Patricia Field. “I was scared,” said Kelly Ramirez, 9. “Now I want to go back in for toys.”