Police concerned after Wal-Mart ‘device’ Found
Georgetown, Texas, police remain concerned, probe for origins, after a device made to look like a bomb is found in a local Wal-Mart.
The Homeland Security National Terror Alert Center confirmed reports of an evacuation Wednesday of the Super Wal-Mart in Georgetown, Texas.
“It was evacuated when a suspicious device was found in the portrait studio of the store Tuesday afternoon,” the terror alert center stated in a news release.
“After investigation by the Austin Police Bomb Squad, the device was found to be an aerosol can with wires coming out if it.”
Before police arrived to deal with the device, store leaders evacuated customers to the parking lot.
Public Information Officer for the Georgetown Police, Keith Hutchinson, told PRB News the device was definitely made to appear threatening.
“Police found an aerosol can wrapped in duct tape, and it had wires sticking out of it,” he said.
They took the device out to the parking area and had it X-rayed; they determined the aerosol can was empty,” he added.
Hutchinson said local law enforcement departments were not yet in touch with federal departments about the possibility of the incident being a “dry run” for future threats.
“I will pass that concern along,” he said.
The Georgetown Wal-Mart has returned to their normal routines hours later, and no one feels threatened by the incident, unit managers confirmed.
“Yes, sir, everything is back to normal,” shift manager Nana Oji said.
Unit supervisor Doug Jones said Wal-Mart corporate offices are aware of the incident, and would follow with inquiries of their own. “For us, it’s business as usual now,” he added.
Wal-Mart corporate spokeswoman Jami Lamontagne said the store’s response reflected their safety principles.
“The safety and security of our customers and associates is a top priority with our company,” Lamontagne said. “The store was closed for approximately four hours.”
Georgetown Police say around 4 p.m., Wednesday, an employee reported the device to the store manager.
Dozens of customers and employees were evacuated into the parking lot during the investigation.
An Austin Bomb Squad robot X-rayed the device and found it to not be explosive.
Now police are trying to figure out who put the device made to look suspicious inside the store.
“The police department is investigating the origins of that device,” Hutchinson told PRB News.