Police: 'Misunderstanding' leads to Gloversville Walmart evacuation

GLOVERSVILLE — The Gloversville Walmart was briefly evacuated Wednesday night after patrons thought they saw someone enter the store with a gun, police said.

An investigation, however, revealed that the person they saw was an employee returning to the store with an anti-theft key device that could easily be mistaken by those unfamiliar with it for a gun, police said.

The incident happened just after 9:30 p.m. at the Walmart Supercenter on South Kingsboro Avenue, police said.

The employee began to leave the store with what police identified as a black “alpha key,” used to remove security devices from some merchandise.

Once in the vestibule, the employee remembered the key, pulled it out from under an untucked shirt and proceeded to return it, police said.

“A review of store surveillance shows several customers reacting to this with alarm and leaving the store,” police said in a press release.

A concerned customer contacted the store by phone and reported seeing someone with a handgun concealed in a box who entered the store. Store staff then notified police and the store was evacuated.

Officers from Gloversville, Johnstown and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department thoroughly searched the store and determined there was no threat, police said.

Gloversville police thanked neighboring departments for their quick response. “We would also like to remind people to ‘See Something, Say Something’ and call 911 directly if they have concerns of someone entering a public place with a firearm,” police said.