Tech giant Apple has abruptly closed one of its outlets in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the mall where it's located witnessed three shooting incidents in recent months. The most recent shooting incident took place on Wednesday. According to Charlotte Observer, the store at Northlake Mall closed at 4pm on Wednesday. The company said on its website that it will open another store in Charlotte area early next year, where the current mall workers will be employed, or help customers online.
"Thank you for visiting. In preparation for a new store we plan to open in the Charlotte area early next year, we will be permanently closing Wednesday, March 1st at 4pm," Apple said in a statement notifying the Northlake employees.
''All of our team members will continue to support our Charlotte customers at Apple SouthPark and the Apple Store Online. Please visit our Apple SouthPark store or apple.com/shop to shop or connect with a Specialist,'' it further said.
The 6,293-square-foot Apple store opened on the upper level of the mall in 2011 featuring full-service sales and setup of personal Apple products. The mall opened in 2005.
As per Bloomberg, Apple declined to comment further on the reasoning for closing the shop. It added that Apple operates about 270 retail locations in the US.
The outlet also said that rarely closes stores, and the quick nature of the shutdown makes it all the more unusual.
But according to local news reports, shots were fired outside of a Macy's at the Northlake Mall on Tuesday, while another shooting took place in early February.
On December 15 last year, the mall closed for a day after two people were shot at the shopping centre. An argument inside a store led to a fight between two people, Charlotte Observer reported. Three people were arrested.
