Apple Shuts Down Retail Store in North Carolina After Three Shootings

Apple is shutting down one of its retail stores in Northlake Mall, Mecklenburg County, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The closure of the Apple Store comes down after the mall suffered at least three shootings in recent months.

Shutting Down Northlake Mall Apple Store

The Northlake Mall Apple Store in Charlotte, North Carola has shut down after multiple shootings occurred in the mall in recent months. According to a report from Apple Insider, the store permanently closed on Wednesday, March 1st at 4:00 PM.

Apple confirmed that there will be no layoffs, as the staff from the closed Apple store will be transferred to the nearby South Park location in Charlotte. Some of them would also be working at the company's online store.

The company informed first the store's employees. On Wednesday morning, a released statement showed up on its website. "All of our team members will continue to support our Charlotte customers at apple SouthPark and the Apple Store Online," the statement said.

Meanwhile, a new location is also opening in Charlotte next year to replace the Northlake Mall store. While the shootings at the mall contributed to the closure, several plans for the new store in Charlotte were already in the works.

This news surprises a lot of people as Apple rarely closes stores, with the quick nature of the shutdown making it all unusual. Bloomberg reported that Apple operates about 270 retail locations in the United States.

Mall Shooting

Northlake Mall started experiencing shootings last 2021. But last December, Axios reported two people were injured in a shooting at the same mall. There is no reported active threat but the mall remained closed for the rest of the day. An officer arrested the suspect immediately and the two injured were taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was called last February to the mall for a report of shots fired at the mall during an altercation between two people.

Nobody was injured aside from the two suspects who were treated for non-shooting-related injuries. CMPD provided CCTV footage to identify the suspects and released it to help identify the subjects involved in the shooting incident.

This Tuesday night, WCNC reported that shots were fired outside Macy's at the Northlake Mall after a fight outside the mall escalated. A witness told that it was eight to nine shots, but fortunately, nobody was struck by the gunfire. The incident is still under investigation.

The latest shooting made Apple decide to permanently close the retail store located at the mall.