Maddy McCoy
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Pineville, N.C.) — It has been a few weeks since a man was shot and killed at Carolina Place Mall in Pineville, but shoppers and employees say they’ve been relatively unaffected by the violence.

Khali Amir Holmes, 24, of Charlotte, died Jan. 13 after he was shot by an employee of the store DTLR, according to police.

DTLR is a “lifestyle retailer of street-inspired footwear, apparel and accessories,” according to the Carolina Place website.

The shooter, whose name has yet to be released, turned himself in shortly after the shooting, police said, and no charges have been filed.

“I had an employee shoot someone inside the store,” said a DTLR employee during a 911 call. “Somebody came in the store and started fighting and they got shot.”

Investigators believe Holmes and the shooter had an ongoing dispute before the altercation and the shooting was not a random act of violence.

Regardless, those who visit and work in the mall say they aren’t overly concerned about the incident.

“That shooting could have happened anywhere,” said Erin Daniels, a Winthrop University student who frequents the mall.

“No one is guaranteed safety when they go anywhere,” she said. “I’m not going to hide from certain places, like the mall, just because a shooting took place.”

“At first I wasn’t sure what was going on. They pretty much just said that there was an incident and we didn’t know it was a shooting until we got home,” said Collyn Sheaffer, who was shopping at the mall when the shooting occurred.

Only a portion of the mall was closed off, he said, while police were investigating the scene.

“We were still able to shop around, so we didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” said Sheaffer.

Lauren Travis, an employee at Carolina Place Mall, said managers at the mall have informed their employees of the shooting, but many of them haven’t gone over specific procedures.

“I know most malls do active shooter drills, but I’ve never done one,” said Travis, who has worked at the mall for over three years.

Weapons, including firearms, are strictly prohibited inside Carolina Place, according to the mall’s code of conduct on its website.

While no charges have been filed against the shooter, police said that could change as the investigation continues.