Target to close nine stores in major cities due to violence and theft

(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Target is closing nine of its stores due to crime and safety threats.

The affected stores include one in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, two locations in Seattle, Washington, three stores in the San Francisco-Oakland area, and three more in Portland, Oregon.

Those stores will shutter for good on October 21.

Target, which has nearly 2,000 stores nationwide, has been outspoken about organized retail crime at its stores, saying that damaged, misplaced or stolen goods will account for a $500 million hit to their yearly profits.