Charlottetown Walmart reopened after evacuation

Shoppers and employees at the Charlottetown Walmart who were ordered out of the store earlier this afternoon could return as of 7 p.m. Tuesday

Charlottetown police said they received a call at around 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday from amale voice reporting a bomb at Walmart.

Employees and shoppers were asked to leave the building and police conducted a search around Walmart'sperimeter.

The Halifax RCMP's Explosives Disposal Unit and K-9 unit were called in, "and it took some time for them to travel," said Charlottetown Police Sgt. Dave Pound.

"They did a thorough internal sweep and did not indicate on anything," said Pound, meaning no device was found.

Walmart evening staff was standing by and ready when the sweep was completed and the store was able to reopen at 7 p.m., Pound said.

Person of interest

Police aretracking the source of the call, Pound said.

"We've got a location as to where the call was made from and we're investigating that," he said.

"We have a person of interest," he added.

Everyone stayed calm

Pound said a few hundred people were in the store at the time of the evacuation "an average crowd for Walmart on an average day."

Everyone left the store quickly and calmly, Pound added.

"I've got to give credit to Walmart staff," he said. "They evacuated the scene very quickly and in a professional manner. Everybody did remain calm. There was absolutely no panic that I observed at the scene here my hats off to them."

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