Apple shuttered a North Carolina outpost with little warning one day after the latest in a spate of shootings at a mall in the state’s largest city.
The Apple retail store at Northlake Mall in Charlotte was permanently closed on Wednesday afternoon — just hours after company officials informed employees that it would be shutting down.
The shootings — the most recent of which occurred outside a nearby Macy’s location on Tuesday – were a factor in the abrupt closure, sources familiar with the situation told Bloomberg.
It was the third instance of gun violence at Northlake Mall in the last three months, local news outlet WBTV reported. No one was injured in the latest incident.
However, local business owners said the shootings were taking a toll.
“It used to be busy all the time here, especially at night,” Theera Green, the manager at Red Crab restaurant, told the outlet. “People don’t feel safe to come out at night now, so it’s greatly impacted us.”
The company’s website for the Apple store at Northlake Mall now displays the message, “Thank you for visiting,” as well as a notice informing customers that the location has closed.
“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,” the website says.
The company has two other stores in Charlotte.
“All of our team members will continue to support our Charlotte customers at Apple SouthPark and the Apple Store Online,” the message adds.
The store closure is not expected to result in any layoffs. Apple has roughly 270 retail locations in the US.
The Post has reached out to Apple for comment on the move.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
