Apple (AAPL) is shuttering a North Carolina retail store after the mall where it was located saw three shootings recently.
The Northlake Mall, located eight miles north of Charlotte, NC, was the scene of gun violence on March 1, Feb. 5, and Dec. 16, the last of which resulted in attempted murder charges against two local men.
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The Northlake Mall issued the following statement after the shootings:
The safety of our guests, tenants, and employees is our highest priority. As you are aware, our security teams are on site 24/7; we work closely with our partners in law enforcement and are prepared to respond to a variety of events. While specific details of our security plans are not publicized, most are visible to our guests and shoppers while other measures are behind the scenes. Thank you to both our security detail and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for their ongoing preparedness and professionalism. If you have any questions on this specific incident, please reach out to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Apple isn’t taking any chances, as it abruptly closed its Northlake location immediately after the third shooting on March 1.
While the company didn’t specifically cite the shootings as the reason it shut down its Northlake store, officials made it clear they would no longer operate inside the mall.
“In preparation for a new store we plan to open in the Charlotte area early next year, we will be closing Apple Northlake on March 2,” the company said in a statement. “All of our team members will continue to support our Charlotte customers at Apple SouthPark and the Apple store online.”
As of Feb. 27, there were 273 Apple Store locations in the U.S., with many of them in higher-crime urban areas.
While Apple did close over 270 stores across the U.S. during the pandemic, it’s rare to see the company shutter a retail outlet. Outside of Apple stores in the U.K. temporarily closing for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last September, shuttering its Russia store after the Ukraine invasion, or select stores closing temporarily for renovations, Apple hasn’t closed any retail stores in 2022 or 2023.
Now, with the Northlake Mall shootings, that number climbs to one.
