The Allen community continues to recover from the recent mass shooting.
Allen Premium Outlets is set to reopen for business next week. The mall had been closed for nearly a month following a mass shooting.
On May 6, a heavily armed former security guard entered the Allen Premium Outlets and opened fire on shopping Texans. A local police officer who happened to be at the site at the time was able to take down the shooter within minutes, but the shooter had already shot and killed eight people while wounding seven others.
The mall was subsequently closed, and it remained closed in the weeks following the tragedy, with its entrances blocked and barricaded. Members of the local community gathered at memorials dedicated to citizens who had been slain, including one placed just outside the mall with large crosses for each victim.
Nearly a month after the shooting took place, the mall has announced that it will soon reopen for business.
The mall announced on its website that it would officially reopen on May 31. The outlet’s hours of operation will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Allen Premium Outlets did say however that hours would vary depending on the retailer immediately following the reopening.
“For the next several weeks, in order to accommodate retailer’s needs, each store has the flexibility to set their own hours and resume their own hours at their own pace,” read a notice on the mall’s website.
Simon Property Group, the mall’s owner, also said in a statement that visitors will now notice an increased law enforcement presence.
Plans for a permanent memorial for the victims of the shooting are already in development.
“As we prepare to reopen Allen Premium Outlets, we do so with deep gratitude for the compassion and goodwill of so many,” said the mall in a statement. “To the Allen Police Department, APO security professionals, other first responders, our retailers, and employees, and all who helped, thank you.”