Knoxville Target stores affected in nationwide register glitch; all stores operational by evening

Knoxville Target stores were affected in a nationwide register system glitch that left many frustrated customers waiting in long lines.

All five Target stores in Knoxville were operational by the late afternoon as were the other stores across the U.S.

Target announced after 6 p.m. that all registers were fully back online in all stores. Target said in a statement that the issue was because of an "internal technology issue that lasted for approximately two hours." 

Apologizing to guests for the inconvenience, Target said the glitch was not a data breach or anything security-related, concluding no personal information was compromised. 

In a tweet from its brand account around 3 p.m. Saturday, Target said it was aware of the problem and was troubleshooting it.

The issue appeared to have started earlier Saturday morning and sent many customers on a social media frenzy, tweeting about "Targetgeddon" and "#targetdown." 

It was unclear how many of the 1,850 stores in the U.S. were affected, but shoppers in Wisconsin, New Jersey and Texas reported issues.