NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 03: iPhones are displayed in the Apple Store on February 03, 2023 in New York City. Apple announced its Q1 earnings, reporting a rare miss on analysts expectations, iPhone sales, which make up more than half of Apples total revenue, declined 8% year-over-year to $65.7 billion. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress)
Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpressIt has come as a shock to most, but the Apple store at Charlotte's Northlake Mall is no more. The store announced March 1 that would be closing it's doors at that location for good, effectively immediately.
WCNC reports Apple says it's closing up shop at that mall to prepare to open a new store in the Charlotte area early next year. Northlake Mall made the announcement on its website the same day the store permanently closed.
According to a report from Bloomberg, employees were informed there would be no layoffs and staff would be transferred to the nearby SouthPark location or online roles. The move comes just one day after the third shooting happened at the Northlake Mall. Those shootings have happened over the last two and a half months.
Although Apple has not said the shootings are the reason behind the move, it is interesting to note it did not previously announce this location would be closing before Wednesday.
On Tuesday, shots were fired outside of Macy's at the Northlake Mall. No injuries were reported. The shooting remains under investigation. Early in February, a shooting happened inside the mall during an altercation between two people. CMPD says no one was injured in the shooting.
The most serious of the three shootings happened in December. That's when two people were hurt after a fight broke out between multipole people at the mall. A person who engaged in a fight was shot and suffered life-threatening injuries while a bystander was also shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Three people were arrested after this shooting.
