CONCORD, N.C. — Tuesday marks two years since a 13-year-old girl was shot and killed outside Concord Mills mall.
Aveanna Propst was at the mall with her sister to buy shoes with her Christmas money when she was caught in the crossfire of a shooting in the parking lot.
“It’s overwhelming to think when you’re going shopping you have to worry about violence and just your overall safety,” said shopper Tricia Stanton.
In the days and months after the shooting, the safety concerns at Concord Mills continued to escalate. So much so that at least twice in the last two years, management has shut down the entire mall early. Both times, this happened after large fights involving teenagers.
That’s part of the reason why Concord Mills started a new Youth Supervision Program over the summer that now requires anyone under 18 years old to be supervised by an adult aged 21 or older. The policy only applies on Fridays and Saturdays and after 3 p.m.
It has been about five months since the policy started on July 20. Mall security is responsible for enforcing the policy, and Concord Police will only get involved if and when someone does not comply with mall security, and then it could be considered trespassing.
As for how it’s going, Concord Mills general manager sent Channel 9 the following statement:
“We established the Youth Supervision Policy to promote a more family friendly environment and to deter disruptive activity. Since it was implemented in July, the program has been successful and remains in place today.”
Channel 9′s DaShawn Brown also checked with Concord Police for the latest data of their response to the mall since the policy was put in place.
Overall, their calls for service have increasingly gone down. It’s important to note there were also reduced hours and crowds in 2020. Concord Mills is primarily responsible for enforcing the policy and the data also reflects all calls to Concord Police, even those after hours.
“I’m not all that concerned about safety. I grew up in Philadelphia, which is a lot more dangerous than down here in the south, but I think it’s a good policy if it’s become a problem,” resident Wendell Williams said.
“I don’t know if there’s really anything that’s going to keep people safe. I feel like now it’s everywhere. It’s at the malls, it’s everywhere,” Stanton said. “I do appreciate the things they’re trying to do to keep people safe and I hope that it’s something that will work, but it’s a big concern of mine.”
Concord Mills said it started the policy after receiving feedback from both the community and community leaders calling for a safe environment for families.
(WATCH BELOW: Family of teen killed in 2019 shooting at Concord Mills files lawsuit against mall)
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