COLONIE – On Wednesday, Dec. 28, at approximately 6 p.m., the Colonie Police Department responded to Colonie Center Mall for a reported fight involving several individuals, some of whom were armed with knives or handguns. This incident took place on the upper level, between Macy’s and Boscov’s.
During the altercation, two stores that were in close proximity to the fight went into a lock-down for a brief period, until police had secured the area and determined this was an isolated incident.
Officers located one injured victim, who suffered minor knife wounds to his hands and head during the fight. He was treated by EMS and released.
A short while later, while searching the area for other involved parties, Officers located a group exiting a different area of the mall. This group did have some involvement in the earlier fight, however their exact role is still being investigated.
One member of this group, Nhoj Sanders, 24, of Schenectady, was found to be in possession of a Taurus G2C 9mm handgun, loaded with more than 20 rounds. This person had no permit to possess this weapon, and he was taken into custody.
The circumstances surrounding the initial fight are still being investigated. No one has been charged with any assault related to the fight.
Sanders was charged with felonies of criminal possession of a weapon 2nd, criminal possession of a weapon 3rd and 2 additional counts for having a large capacity magazine and the weapon serial number being defaced.
Sanders was arraigned in the Colonie Town Court and was sent to the Albany County Jail pending a future hearing.
This is still an active and ongoing investigation. If you were a witness to this incident, or you know something that might be relevant to this investigation, please contact the Colonie Police Investigations Division at 518-783-2754. If you wish to report a tip anonymously, you can call Capital Region Crimestoppers at 1-833-ALB-TIPS, or go to capitalregioncrimestoppers.com.
