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WRENTHAM - Mob violence. Designer clothes. Huge crowds.

No, it's not the latest Hollywood blockbuster. That was the scene at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets early Friday, when thousands of people descended on the plaza for a midnight sale that kicked off the official Christmas shopping season.

For the second year in a row, most of the stores at the outlets opened their doors at 12:01 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving. To entice customers, companies offered bargains billed as the season's best.

Unfortunately, peace on earth and goodwill toward men were not much in evidence at the store that was busiest Friday morning: Coach, the leather-goods company best known for its handbags.

Polo, Nike and Banana Republic all had crowds waiting outside before midnight, but the line at Coach was an order of magnitude larger. Despite the temperature dipping below 45 degrees, at 11:45 p.m. there were at least 350 people lined up to wait their turn to drop a few hundred bucks on a handbag. The kicker: the store didn't announce in advance what its special discount would be, so there was no way for those in line to know what kind of deal they were waiting for.

The first person in line at Coach was Melissa Patti, 25, who drove an hour from her home in Melrose with her aunt and cousin to take advantage of the sales.

After cooling her heels in the mall's auxiliary parking lot - Wrentham police prohibited anyone but employees from entering the outlets' main lot before 11 - Patti ran up the hill at the front of the plaza and sprinted across the parking lot to secure her first-person spot.

Patti, who teaches third grade, said she made the trip based on her experience at last year's midnight sale, when she stood in line to get four bags for $300.

"After the deals we got last year, we couldn't miss it," she said.

Asked what their family thought about the trio's decision to spend Friday's early hours outside in the cold for a couple handbags, Patti laughed.

"They think we're totally crazy," she said.

That comment was echoed almost verbatim by every person interviewed at the plaza.

The first sign of trouble at Coach came around 11:40. By that time, there was one main line in front of the store's entrance, but also two smaller, scraggly lines running perpendicular to the main line, stoking fears that they were angling to cut into the main line.

At that point, the single policeman assigned to guard the store told the crowd that only those waiting in the main line would be allowed in. But the confusion remained - and the distrust. Amanda Peter, who was standing about a dozen rows back from the front of the line, spoke for many when she said she was angry at the lack of order, considering how well-publicized the midnight sale was.

"The bottom line is they need to prepare better," Peter said.

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the dozen or so employees inside Coach eyed the mass of people outside with a mix of amusement and wariness. Shortly before the doors opened, they gathered in a huddle.

Already, the crowd was growing restless. There was a lot of screaming - some of it good-natured, but some of it calling attention to persons accused of cutting in line.

Finally, at 12:01 a.m., the single Wrentham police officer opened the door to allow the first 50 customers in.

But instead of an orderly procession, there was an angry riot, with people screaming, pushing, and punching each other out of the way as they tried to squeeze through Coach's small entrance. One woman was knocked to the ground.

After the officer restored order and shut the doors, the officer called in reinforcements. But a version of the same wild, every-man-for-himself scene was repeated every time another group was allowed to enter the store.

As she tried to exit the store with her two purchases, Jessica Marques, 27, of New Bedford, was warned by a Coach employee, "Be safe out there."

Marques said she was disgusted by the whole business.

"I would never do it again," she said, shaking her head. "People are crazy."

Plus, Marques added, the special midnight deal wasn't even that great - an extra 10 percent off the outlet's regular prices.

As Marques spoke, a middle-aged woman hobbled out of the store, and moaned: "I think they broke my toe!"

Still, despite the situation at Coach, most of the people in the young-looking crowd Friday morning seemed to be enjoying themselves as they wandered from store to store. A significant number of those in attendance were speaking foreign languages, perhaps making use of favorable exchange rates.

There were plenty more people coming, too. Traffic to exit I-495 was backed up for a half-hour, and the line of cars waiting to enter the mall stretched more than a mile down South Street (Route 1A) into Plainville.

Allison Mockler, 17, of Warwick, R.I., said she was impressed by the crowd, and planned to stay until at least 3 a.m.

"It's amazing," she said. "I love shopping."

TED NESI can be reached at 508-236-0434 or at tnesi@thesunchronicle.com.