Tim Cook upset after black teens prevented from entering Apple Store

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has responded to a controversial incident earlier this week in an Australian Apple Store in which six black teenagers were prevented from entering out of fear they might steal something. In a company-wide email, first obtained by BuzzFeed today, Cook said the incident "does not represent our values" and it is "not a message we would ever want to deliver to a customer or hear ourselves."

The encounter took place in at the Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia, and the six boys — from Somalia and Sudan — were from nearby Maribyrnong College. After security eyed them approaching the store, an Apple representative curtly told the boys to leave immediately because "they're [security] just worried you might steal something." A video of the exchange filmed on a smartphone was posted to Facebook on Tuesday, whereupon it went viral.

"Our store leadership teams ... will be refreshing their training."

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An Apple Store senior manager later apologized to the boys when they returned with their school principal to investigate the matter, but Cook says that's not enough. "While I firmly believe that this was an isolated incident rather than a symptom of a broader problem in our stores, we will use this moment as an opportunity to learn and grow," he wrote. "Our store leadership teams around the world, starting in Australia, will be refreshing their training on inclusion and customer engagement."

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