Walmart In Burbank Closed After Receiving 'Suspicious Phone Call' and 'Perceived Threat'

BURBANK (CBSLA) — A Walmart in Burbank was closed after an employee inside received a possibly threatening call on Tuesday afternoon.

An employee inside the Empire Center Walmart located at 1301 N. Victory Place received a "suspicious phone call and perceived threat" at about 1:20 p.m., according to the Burbank Police Department.

"Store management chose to evacuate the store prior to the arrival of police," according to a police department statement.

Police said the details of that threat are unknown as officers had not yet spoken to the employee who answered the call.

An investigation was launched into the "validity, type and origin of the threat," said police.

Burbank police Tweeted out an update at 3:09 p.m. saying, "Ongoing police investigation at Walmart in Burbank. Allied agency response with explosive detection dogs being deployed to search Walmart following phone call threat of an alleged explosive device inside the store."

No injuries were reported.

The public was advised to avoid the area, which was closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, while the investigation was underway.

At 3:42 p.m., Burbank police Tweeted the final updating deeming the area safe saying, "Police on-scene have concluded their search and deemed the store safe for re-entry."

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

In:
• Walmart