Allen Premium Outlets is set to begin reopening on Wednesday after a deadly mass shooting nearly one month ago.
On May 6, a heavily armed former security guard entered the mall and opened fire on multiple people. A local law enforcement officer who happened to be in the area was able to dispatch the assailant minutes after the onslaught began, but not before the shooter had killed eight people, including three children, and wounded seven others, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The mall had been closed since the tragedy and was not expected to reopen before all the funeral and memorial services for the victims had concluded.
A makeshift memorial was placed outside the mall with large crosses for each victim, flowers, stuffed animals, as well as murals inspired by the tragedy and the bravery of the officer who shot the assailant.
This mall announced last week that it would reopen for business officially on May 31. However, businesses would be allowed to determine their own opening dates.
The Dallas Express visited the mall on Tuesday ahead of the scheduled reopening and noted that the large memorial placed in honor of those victims has since been removed. Law enforcement officers continued to maintain barricades set around the entrances of the mall.
Some workers at the mall are uneasy about returning to work despite previous promises of heightened security.
Niqi Crump, an employee of one of the retail stores at the mall, told NBC that she had been present during the shooting and was relieved that she would not be scheduled to work on the day that the mall reopens.
Crump had been back at work on May 28 and said that being there prompted memories.
“We have to clock-in in the back office where we were hiding,” said Crump, according to NBC. “So even in just a few moments back there, I kind of felt my face getting tense,” she continued.
Crump asked that visitors to the shopping center be respectful to employees as they return to work.
Although store hours may vary and it pays to phone ahead, the mall will be open generally Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.