2 men die in shooting at Toys 'R' Us in Palm Desert

Gunfire erupted inside a busy Toys "R" Us store in Palm Desert Friday morning, leaving two men dead as shoppers scrambled for cover.

The shooting, apparently sparked by a personal dispute between two groups of shoppers, occurred on Black Friday, traditionally one of the year's busiest shopping days, and when the store was crowded with families and children.

Shopper Sara Frahm, 25, of La Quinta said she was in the electronics department shopping for gifts for her 3-year-old daughter when she heard two women fighting and swearing in an aisle next to them. Other shoppers began yelling, "He has a gun!"

Her friend, April Aguilar, 24, spotted a man with a black handgun, near where the women were fighting. Employees were rushing to the area to try to break up the fight when one of the men started firing, Aguilar said.

They heard at least six or seven shots.

"This is horrible," Aguilar said. "I'm never shopping on Black Friday again."

Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez declined to release the names of the victim, nor did he know how many weapons had been recovered. Palm Desert Councilman Bob Spiegel said the men were killed in an exchange of gunfire.

Toys "R" Us officials released a statement saying they are "outraged by the act of violence . . . and by the fact that anyone would compromise the safety and security of our customers and employees."

"Our understanding is that this act seems to have been the result of a personal dispute between the individuals involved. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to associate the events of today with Black Friday," the statement said.

Saul Diaz, an assistant manager at the Jiffy Lube next to the toy store, said he was talking to a customer shortly after 11:30 a.m. when a stampede of about 45 people ran in. Some were distraught and crying.

"They were running fast, straight into the car bays," Diaz said. "There was a couple of ladies with little kids, about 3 years [old]. They were all pale. The kids were shouting, 'Mom, I'm scared.' "

Diaz said his staff immediately closed the store, locked the front doors and led people into a basement car bay, where inventory is stored.

Other shoppers fled out the back of the toy store to World Gym, across the street from the Desert Crossing Shopping Center on Highway 111.

"They looked distressed," said Jeff Valare, the gym's manager. "One woman had an infant in her arms and was crying. They were telling us they heard five or six gunshots."

In raw video footage from KESQ-TV Channel 3, one woman can be seen sitting on a curb, crying. Another woman, being handcuffed and led to a police car, shouted, "[Expletive] I'm going to [expletive] kill you right now. I'm going to kill you, yeah you."

Police said no arrests had been made and homicide investigators were still processing the scene.

michelle.maltais@latimes.com

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com

richard.winton@latimes.com

Times staff writer Molly Hennessy-Fiske contributed to this report.