HOUSTON – Hundreds of people lined up outside shoe stores across the Houston area Friday for their chance to get their hands on the latest Air Jordan shoes.
The Air Jordan Concord, which retails around $180, did not go on sale until Friday at 12 a.m., but that did not stop some fans from camping outside shoe stores for days, braving the cold and rain -- some as early as Sunday.
With a very limited supply of the highly sought-after shoes, demand was high.
Stephanie Webber was one of 1,500 people in line at Northline Commons, 4400 North Freeway at Crosstimbers in north Houston.
"I've been in line since Tuesday night, waiting in line with my kids," she said.
Shoppers at Northline said things got out of control.
"There was a lot of cutting and fussing and fighting and bickering," said Charion Lockett.
"When they first started opening, everybody started bum-rushing. The cops made everybody go back in line and if you didn't have a ticket, they said they would take you to jail. It's chaos out here," Webber said.
Kindra Bryant was also in line at Footaction. When tickets were handed out, she said there was some type of commotion and a window was shattered.
The general manager of the shopping plaza painted a different picture.
"These people were out here for the Jordan release and they came and lined up last night, very peacefully, long lines all night long," said Jeff Procell, with Northline Commons.
Security was stepped up at several area malls for the Friday sale.
At Katy Mills Mall, a spokeswoman said some in the crowd were being rude and broke a door at 3 a.m. They were asked to leave.
The re-issue of the coveted show is the first time they've been available in several years.
Most stores sold out within a few minutes of being open Friday morning.