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County Prosecutors Won't File Charges Against Shopper Who Used Pepper Spray On Black Friday

LOS ANGELES (CBS) —  Los Angeles County prosecutors will not file a felony case against a woman who allegedly used pepper spray while shopping at a Walmart store in Porter Ranch during a Black Friday sale.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office referred the potential case against Elizabeth Macias, 32, to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

The Black Friday incident made worldwide headlines, with authorities saying soon afterward that the pepper spray was used on a crowd as clerks unwrapped plastic from a shipment of Xbox electronic gaming consoles about 10 p.m. Thanksgiving night.

About 20 people  suffered minor injuries, authorities said.

Macias, whose name was never officially released by authorities, went to the Los Angeles Police Department's Devonshire station at 8:30 p.m. the following day and was released after declining to be interviewed, according to police.

 (©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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