PHOTO GALLERY: Black Friday shoppers line up in Columbia

Evan Babel, one of the first people to buy a Black Friday "door buster" TV special at Target in Columbia, rushes across the parking lot with his purchase Thursday night.   |  Greg Kendall-Ball

Betty Hall, left, and Patrick Daily huddle together for warmth while waiting Thursday night outside Target for Black Friday shopping. "I was expecting the rain," Daily said, "but I wasn't expecting this cold weather." After reaching into the 70s, temperatures dropped after rain showers swept through Columbia during the late afternoon.   |  Greg Kendall-Ball

John Gilmore eats Thanksgiving food brought to him by his friend Tanner Smith while he waited Thursday night outside Best Buy to take advantage of Black Friday sales. Gilmore got in line around midnight the night before, and said the wait was worth it because of the money he would save on the two televisions, laptop, video game system and camera he hoped to buy.
  |  Greg Kendall-Ball

Employees of the Target at Columbia Mall get last-minute instructions from their managers before the doors opened at 9 p.m. for Black Friday shopping Thursday night.   |  Greg Kendall-Ball

Eddie Vomund, a manager at Target at Columbia Mall, explains how tickets would be handed out to customers waiting in line for the big "door buster" special, a 50-inch LCD television priced at $350.   |  Greg Kendall-Ball

Bridget Martin, left, and Lonnie Higgins sit at a table Thursday night at Columbia Mall, watching the crowd waiting to get into Target for Black Friday shopping. "We got up here and walked around the corner to the end of the line, then said, 'That ain't happening,' then came to sit here and watch for a little bit," Higgins said.
  |  Greg Kendall-Ball