WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ – The shoppers of one New Jersey Wal-Mart store got more than they bargained for on the weekend of March 13, 2010 when they were were greeted by a voice over the store’s public address system.

“Attention Wal-Mart customers, all black people must leave the store now.”

The store’s manager delivered an almost instant apology over the store’s PA system and was uncertain at the time whether the derogatory announcement had been made by a customer or disgruntled employee. The store has in excess of 20 PA accessible phones, not all of which are camera monitored. This did not prevent angry customers from expressing their concern to the store’s manager.

The public has had mixed views of the incident. Some Wal-Mart customers have talked of a temporary boycott while others refuse to be bothered by the incident.

A March 19th arrest was made of a male subject. The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office will be holding a news conference on March 20th to address the incident. The announcer’s name has not yet been released.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie says the incident was “unacceptable”, and the Bentonville, Arkansas, company is now seeking ways to better secure its PA systems.