Black Friday begins, with crowds, some shopping and some mayhem

It’s Black Friday. Let the games begin … in earnest.

The holiday shopping season kicked off officially Friday after retailers tested the mood of consumers by offering discounts and opening their doors earlier than ever.

Many of the nation’s top retailers began door-buster sales even before the turkey left the table and the stuffing went cold. Venerable Macy’s broke a 155-year tradition by opening on Thanksgiving.

So far it was worth it, according to Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren. “Everything is just all good,” Lundgren told CNBC in an early-morning interview from the retailer’s flagship Manhattan store. 

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Some violence marred the Black Friday kickoff, however:

• A Las Vegas shopper was shot late on Thanksgiving Day as he was attempting to take his newly bought television home, police told NBC News.
• In the Chicago area, a police officer shot the driver of a car that was dragging another officer who was responding to a call of alleged shoplifting. Three were arrested, police said.
• At least three people got into a brawl in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Rialto, Calif., because shoppers allegedly were cutting the line. Two were taken into custody, according to police.
• At another Wal-Mart in West Virginia, a man was slashed to the bone with a knife after threatening another man with a gun. The altercation was over a parking spot, police said.
• And in New Jersey, a shopper was charged with aggravated assault after getting into an argument over a television set with a Wal-Mart manager.

Read more at NBC News.