Forever 21, Macy’s, Starbucks, and… metal detectors? With crime on the climb in the Atlanta area, the Lenox Mall we all know and love is changing, and not for the better. The buzzing shopping center used to be the location where Dubs opted to spend their weekends shopping, eating, and spending time with friends. However, due to the recent surge in crime, these same students and parents have grown wary of visiting Lenox Mall and have legitimate concerns for its future.

Over the course of the past year, there have been a total of six shootings at the mall– and it doesn’t stop there. Break-ins to luxury stores are on the rise in addition to parking lot robberies and assaults. Senior Tabitha Randklev was one Warrior who was frightened to experience the chaos at the mall firsthand. “I went to Lenox to make a few returns at Forever 21, but when I pulled into a parking space, I saw at least 30 people screaming and running out of the mall, so I immediately drove away. Turns out there was a gunshot at Neiman Marcus,” she said. 

In an attempt to prevent similar future incidents, management at Lenox has reportedly spent millions of dollars beefing up security. The shopping center is now teeming with security patrols at all hours, metal detectors, and over 200 new cameras. That’s all in addition to some luxury stores within Lenox closing as early as 6pm on Fridays and Saturdays due to the increased crime that tends to occur on weekend evenings. However, despite these recent efforts to make Lenox a safer and more secure place, Dubs are still reluctant to venture to the mall. “It’s super disappointing because a lot of my favorite stores are in Lenox. I used to shop there often but not recently due to how sketchy it is now,” said junior Julia Barfield. “Even my family that just visited from out of town knew to stay away from Lenox.”

With the reputation the mall is building up in addition to the impacts of the pandemic and the trend toward online shopping, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to envision a positive future for Lenox Square.There is no clear answer if the measures put in place by mall management will help to curb the uptick in violent crime at the Buckhead shopping institution, but still, most Dubs hope for the best, for losing the shopping center would be a blow to both the Buckhead community and the city of Atlanta as a whole.