Concord Mills closed early Saturday due to ‘disorderly’ juveniles and teens, city says
Concord Mills — one of North Carolina’s busiest shopping malls — shut its doors early Saturday evening after some stores reported “disorderly” youths causing a disturbance, according to a news release from the city.
Concord city officials issued a statement shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday confirming the closure. Concord Mills is located off Interstate 85, about 12 miles north of uptown Charlotte in Cabarrus County.
“Mall management advised the (police) that several juveniles or teens became disorderly to the point that several stores decided to close on their own, and later mall management decided to close,” Concord city communications specialist Allyson Summitt said in an email.
Summitt told the Observer Sunday no arrests were made during the incident and “police were not directly involved.”
The Observer’s news partner WBTV reported the stores that closed early did so because their staff “didn’t feel safe to remain open.”
Concord police posted a tweet at 7:56 p.m. Saturday warning people in the area to prepare for heavy traffic after “Concord Mills Mall closed early tonight.” The mall’s normal closing hour on Saturday is 9 p.m.
The mall was expected to open at its normal time Sunday, police said.
Police have not released details about the disturbance.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is typically one of the busiest shopping times of the year.
Concord Mills has had issues with disorderly teens in the past, including a September 2017 incident in which the mall was “evacuated after a melee erupted” between “a large group juveniles and young adults,” the Observer reported. Two teens, one 14 and the other 15, were among those charged, it was reported.
In December 2019, one teen was killed and two others wounded during a shooting in the parking lot, police reported.
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Concord Mills closed early Saturday due to ‘disorderly’ juveniles and teens, city says."