Concord Mills mall closed early Saturday ‘due to juveniles fighting,’ police say

For the second time since November, Concord Mills officials closed the popular mall early on a Saturday night due to disruptive juveniles, according to police.

Concord Police have not said if anyone was injured or arrested during the incident.

“CPD responded to Concord Mills ... due to juveniles fighting,” the department said in a tweet. “Mall management closed mall early.”

CPD responded to @ConcordMillsNC due to juveniles fighting. Mall management closed mall early. CPD is directing traffic in the area. Please seek alternate routes. /jh pic.twitter.com/2PdBZfYWjs

— Concord, NC Police (@ConcordNCPolice) January 24, 2021

Police “tried to disperse the group to prevent further issues,” WSOC reported. Officers were also sent to direct traffic as shoppers were forced to leave the parking lot all at once, the department said.

Concord Mills — one of North Carolina’s busiest shopping malls — is located off Interstate 85, about 12 miles north of uptown Charlotte in Cabarrus County.

It was also forced to shut its doors early Nov. 28 after some stores reported “disorderly” youths causing a disturbance, according to city officials.

“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 of the Nov. 28 incident.

Concord Mills has a history of issues with disorderly teens, including a 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 2019, a teen was killed and two others were hurt after shots were fired in the parking lot, police reported.