$1,300 taken from Colonie Pop Warner concession

COLONIE — Someone broke into a Colonie Pop Warner concession stand over the weekend and took $1,300 in cash, league officials and police said.

Now the league is raising funds in response, including to increase security at the Schermerhorn Road site.

League volunteers discovered the damage Monday and reported it to police, said Shawn Hennessey, president of North Colonie Pop Warner.

Hennessey said he immediately noticed the door had been pried open. Inside, he found further damage: The cash register had been forced open and a safe had been broken open.

“We looked around and could also see they tried to break into other buildings on the site,” Hennessey said. “It was just an awful feeling.”

The break-in at the concession stand happened sometime between Friday and Monday, police said. Though the burglars appeared to try other buildings, they only got into the concession stand.

The burglary remains under investigation, Detective Sgt. George Thomaides said. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 518-783-2754.

Practices for the kids have continued as usual, Hennessey said, something organizers wanted to ensure happened. 

The organization includes 93 football players on seven teams, as well as 23 cheer members, Hennessey said.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help in the recovery. The effort had raised $540 of its $2,500 goal as of 7:45 p.m. Tuesday.

The league has insurance that will help fix the damage, Hennessey said, but they are hoping to increase security at the site.

“We didn’t think things like that could happen in our community,” Hennessey said.

Categories: News, Schenectady County