Can you take your concealed gun to a mall in Palm Beach County? Check their code of conduct
Florida allows people to carry a concealed weapon without a state permit, but can people tote their firearm around malls?
The question emerged after Wednesday's shooting at The Gardens Mall. Palm Beach Gardens police said Thursday afternoon they are searching for two men they believe are responsible for the incident, which resulted in one person being hospitalized with what officers described as a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
The policy on carrying weaponry at Palm Beach County malls is not uniform.
The Gardens Mall's website clearly states the "open display of weapons of any kind," including firearms, is banned but Michigan-based Forbes Company, which owns the property, said concealed weapons are permissible if the person has a permit.
Carrying a weapon to a mall? Check their codes of conduct as policies vary
That is not the case at Harbourside Place in Jupiter, or The Mall at Wellington Green or the Boynton Beach Mall. The prohibition is stated on each of the properties' codes of conduct.
Along with fighting, loitering, overnight parking and other behaviors and actions, "firearms" "of any kind" or weapons "of any type" or "illegal weapons" are banned at each of the retail, dining and entertainment centers.
A fourth mall, Town Center at Boca Raton, did not respond to requests for information on its firearms policy.
In a statement, Asad Sadiq, general manager at The Mall at Wellington Green said the "safety of our guests and employees" remains the property's "absolute highest priority."
"Our well-trained security teams, alongside our partners at Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, are constantly reviewing protocols, undergoing professional instruction, and conducting training drills to be as prepared as possible for incidents of this nature," Sadiq wrote.
"We take this responsibility incredibly seriously as we work daily to provide a safe and secure space for our visitors, our tenants, and our collective staff."
The mall was the scene of a December 2018 shooting in which a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s K-9, Cigo, was fatally shot. The violent incident occurred after PBSO deputies tracked two men wanted on attempted murder and armed robbery charges and then attempted to arrest them as they walked toward their vehicle parked outside the mall.
Question of guns in malls on people's minds after Gardens Mall shooting
The question about the propriety of weaponry in popular shopping malls emerged after Wednesday's shooting at The Gardens Mall.
The gunfire created a chaotic scene in what had been a busy midafternoon day of Valentine's Day shopping and fun. Patrons and store employees alike hid for cover or tried to flee the scene. Many were forced to shelter in place at the property for the balance of the afternoon while police searched for those involved in the gunplay.
The mall subsequently closed for the rest of the holiday and reopened Thursday morning.
A commercial real estate broker and retail expert lamented the act of gun violence and said he feared it will be a blow to retailers' efforts to get shoppers to break their online shopping habits and return to malls.
"It's just another thing for somebody who is already a little fearful to wonder, 'Why would I go shopping at the mall when I can buy stuff online?' " said Orin Rosenfeld, a commercial real estate broker and retail expert with Rosenfeld Realty Advisors in Boca Raton.
Is it time for more security measures at malls? Like metal detectors?
The fact that The Gardens Mall is in affluent Palm Beach Gardens and not a lower-income part of the county further could reinforce public concerns that no place is safe from gun violence, Rosenfeld added.
He recommended that mall owners seeking to reassure frightened customers announce strong security measures, including more visible security initiatives such as more armed guards. He also advocated for a controversial measure, the use of metal detectors,
"Should it happen? Of course, it should happen," Rosenfeld said of metal detectors. "But will it happen is questionable, especially in Florida."
Other U.S. malls, however, have tested metal detectors without sustainable success. In 2023, after multiple shootings at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the mall's experiment with metal detectors was short-lived because of the mall's large size and multiple entrances. Instead, the mall opted for other practices, such as random bag inspections.
Mall shootings can have a profound effect of shoppers' feelings of safety
During the past 30 years, two Palm Beach County malls formerly owned by Simon Property Co. suffered a decline following high-profile shootings.
In 1999, Chick-fil-A employee Nicholas Megrath was killed in an execution-style murder at the Palm Beach Mall.
The aging, dated shopping center on a prime site along Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard just east of Interstate 95 was eventually sold, torn down and rebuilt as the Palm Beach Outlets in 2014. The property now is known as Tanger Outlet.
And after a 2006 Christmas Eve shooting inside the Boynton Beach Mall left one man dead, some shoppers became wary of visiting the property.
By 2011, security fears began taking a toll on sales at the Boynton mall. Simon Property Group put the property up for sale that year, but the mall failed to attract any buyers.
The mall's new owner, Washington Prime Group, last year put the Boynton Beach Mall up for sale again, this time as a redevelopment play for a buyer wanting to tear down the mall and build homes, offices and a hotel on the 91-acre site.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Can you take your concealed gun to a mall in South Florida?
