North Carolina Apple Store Shuts Down After Shootings

As a result of several shootings that took place in the mall where Apple's Charlotte store is located in recent months, Apple Inc. abruptly closed one of its retail stores in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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In an email to its employees on Wednesday, the company informed them that the store would be closing immediately, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The store was open for business Wednesday morning, according to a copy of its website from the day before, and it did not appear on the website that there are any plans to change the hours of the store or to close it in the future. 

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Upon being informed of the plans, Apple updated its website to show that the Northlake Mall store in Mecklenburg County, where the store is located, would be permanently shut down after they were informed of the plan. According to the people who made the decision, the shootings at the mall contributed to the decision to make the change. 

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Employees have been informed by Apple that there will be no layoffs at its Northlake Mall location and that their duties will be transferred to the nearby SouthPark location in Charlotte or to positions at the company's online store if they are not able to transfer.

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As part of its expansion plans, Apple is also planning to open a new store in Charlotte next year to replace the Northlake Mall location. Before the recent shootings in Las Vegas, there were already plans in place for that store.

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Despite Apple's confirmation of the closure, the company declined to comment further on the reasons behind the decision.

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"As part of our 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," Apple said in a statement. “It is our intention to continue providing support to our Charlotte customers at Apple SouthPark and on the Apple store website as well."

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The fact that Apple has about 270 retail stores in the United States makes this shutdown all the more unusual, as the company rarely closes stores, and this was a quick shutdown.

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It has been reported that shots were fired outside of a Macy's store at the Northlake Mall on Tuesday, while another shooting occurred at the mall in early February, according to local news reports. There have been additional shootings reported in December as well as in 2021.