Retailers and malls are reckoning with the harsh reality that they have become what the Federal Bureau of Investigaton and U.S. Department of Homeland Security call “soft targets” for mass shootings, which bring death and devastation to the communities where they operate and hurt their businesses in various ways.
Some retailers and malls are acknowledging their vulnerability in investor materials. In at least its last five annual reports, for example, Walmart has warned that “active shooter situations (such as those that have occurred in our U.S. stores)” is one type of catastrophic event that “could materially adversely affect our financial performance.” In the last two years, Simon Property Group has similarly included “mass shootings” among concerns that could keep consumers away from in-store shopping.
