UPDATED (NEW DETAILS): Alleged shooting incident at Crossgates Mall under investigation

Nov 12, 2016 Lianne Webster-Kim News

A University at Albany cruiser blocks the Western Avenue entrance to Crossgates Mall late Saturday afternoon after an alleged shooting took place.

City of Albany Police were among the local agencies which responded to reports of a shooting at Crossgates Mall the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 12.

A pair of police officers stands outside the entrance to Dick’s Sporting Goods at Crossgates Mall Saturday afternoon.

A patron with a motorized scooter leaves Crossgates Mall after an alleged shooting took place on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 12, 2016.

A pair of police officers stands outside the entrance to Dick’s Sporting Goods at Crossgates Mall Saturday afternoon after an alleged shooting took place.

A helicopter flies over Crossgates Mall early Saturday evening as police continue their investigation into an alleged shooting which took place earlier in the afternoon.

A pair of policemen stand outside an entrance to Crossgates Mall after an alleged shooting took place inside on Saturday afternoon.

Two people comfort each other after being evacuated from Crossgates Mall Saturday evening after an alleged shooting took place there earlier that afternoon.

Multiple police agencies remained on the scene at Crossgates Mall at dusk Saturday evening as they continue their search for a suspect in an alleged shooting which took place inside the mall earlier in the afternoon.

GUILDERLAND – Multiple police agencies remain at Crossgates Mall this evening after an alleged shooting took place inside the mall earlier today.

According to posts on Facebook and Twitter, the alleged event took place near the Apple store on the first floor around 2:30 p.m.

The mall quickly went into lockdown. Both shoppers and employees were instructed to shelter in place until notified otherwise. As of this update, police agencies are still conducting a sweep of the building and evacuating any remaining shoppers and employees. No one appears to have been injured as a result of the alleged shooting.

Multiple media outlets were reporting earlier this evening that two suspects who were initially detained by police had been released.

According to Guilderland Police Chief Carol Lawlor, who addressed media representatives outside the mall around 4:30 p.m., authorities are looking for a black male, approximately six feet tall, weighing about 200 pounds, wearing a white shirt with a black hoodie based on surveillance camera footage. As of this update, the suspect is still at large.

While CDTA bus service has been suspended to the mall until further notice, buses are parked in the overflow lot across from Dave & Busters for evacuees to use as warming stations. Road entrances into the mall remain blocked at this time.

A tweet posted earlier this evening by one of the mall’s tenants, Albany Funny Bone, states that Crossgates is closed for the day. A call made the the mall’s main phone number around 5:45 p.m. went unanswered. There was no message on the recording about the alleged shooting nor the facility’s closure for the day.

We will continue to update this story with confirmed information as it becomes available.