What went down at the Sanlitun Apple Store in Beijing, China?

Seth Weintraub | May 7 2011 - 7:35 am PT

Update: we just got the following unverified account:

According to my friend who was at the Sanlitun Apple Store when the incident took place, there were dozens of resellers outside the store trying to get the white iPhone 4, they were told to wait in line and was not allowed to go inside. Resellers got pissed and smashed the glass door, which costs about 300,000RMB or 46,000USD, according to an apple employee at the store. Then a foreign(non-Chinese) employee came out from the store with a metal club and hit 4 people, including 2 young men and 2 middle age women. All 4 people are hospitalized right now and no money was paid by apple for medical purposes.

Pictures are just coming in but it appears that there was some sort of incident between “foreign Apple Store Employees” and some locals during the iPad 2 launch. One account:

The afternoon of May 7, Beijing SanLiTun store Apple, crowds queued to buy the iPhone4 conflict with in-store staff. One stands more than 1.9 metres for expatriate staff armed with iron rods Brawl wounded four customers. A glass door of the store were hit and destroyed by excited crowds. Are 4-bit the injured have been admitted to hospital

Another account has another poorly translated view:

Sanlitun Apple Store bloodshed, because too many people queuing waiting suddenly closed shop, where the weather is so hot multi-line Burongyia, Apple stunned party to a foreigner and a Chinese man actually hands-on, people with the scene confirmed the man was wounded also the guests lined up to buy Apple products.We look at the quality of foreigners, but also that, to earn the money we have in China is also the name of our people.

We’re not sure exactly what went down but it doesn’t look too good.

In other Apple Store glass smashing news, the Westlake Cleveland Apple store was robbed. 24 MacBook and 1 iPod stolen. Perpetrators were last seen heading east (1999?)

More pictures of bloodied people and one final account below:

Sina.com

According to witnesses, there were people tried to cut in front of the line in the afternoon, and caused chaos. There were frictions while the securities tried to keep the order, then a foreigner (possible an Apple employee) came out of the Apple store, beat up a few of the people waiting in the line, then went back into the store. The crowd requested to follow-into the store to find that person (who used violence), were denied entry by the security, that’s when the glass door of the Apple store was crushed. According to some, that foreigner (called John), was wearing Apple uniform, possibly an Apple employee, but hasn’t been confirmed officially by Apple yet.