After knife fight, eyeglass store looks to more security

Two arrests were made after fracas, suspects remain in custody

By RICK KARLIN

COLONIE — Shoppers strolling through Colonie Center in recent weeks may have noticed that one of the mall’s retailers, the LensCrafters eyeglass and contact lens store, has had its metal security gate down.

A security guard was posted inside the store to let customers in and out.

That gate is expected to be lifted Monday, three months after a knife fight erupted right outside the store, which is on the mall’s second level.

No one in the store was talking about the gates when a reporter asked, and an email to LensCrafters corporate office wasn’t returned in time for deadline.

Colonie Center representatives also did not elaborate on the measure, which appeared to be the only spot in the mall showing outward signs of heightened security.

“It is our policy not to disclose information regarding specific security measures implemented. We do however employ a robust security team that patrols the interior and exterior of the property 24/7,” a mall spokesperson said in a prepared statement.

Police believe the security step stemmed from a fight at the end of December that led to one injury and the arrest of two 18-year-old men who remain in the Albany County jail.

“That’s just a choice they made,” Colonie Police spokesman Lt. Daniel Belles said of the decision at LensCrafters to keep the gate lowered during store hours.

“The employees were pretty shaken up by it,” he said of the fight, adding the store was using “an abundance of caution.”

The two suspects have been charged with second-degree attempted murder and first-degree attempted assault.

Police said they “were actively involved” in assaulting a third victim with a large combat-style knife. The victim suffered a hand wound. Officers said they also found an imitation handgun at the home of one of the suspects.

Belles said the flight was between people who knew each other and ended up facing off in the mall when they crossed paths.

While malls and retailers nationwide have several security measures they can take, keeping the gates closed is an unusual tactic, said David Levenberg, a Florida-based mall security consultant.

Jewelry stores in high crime areas, for example, may have locked doors through which customers need to buzzed in by someone in the store.

Gates, which at first glance could make a store look like it was closed, are not a good long term tactic, he said. “That’s obviously not sustainable,” he said.

Levenberg, like Belle, said the employees were probably frightened by the December fight and they asked the company to let them close the gates.