A bomb squad descended on a Merrionette Park strip mall Wednesday night after a person threw a “beeping” device inside a tobacco shop, police said. Authorities appeared to blow up whatever the device was later in the evening.
A Merrionette police detective told NBC 5 an “unknown male” threw "a device that was emitting a beeping sound" in Tobacco City about 5:33 p.m. near 115th Street and Kedzie Avenue.
The scene included a flashing drone that was scouting the storefronts of the strip mall and officers in thick, armored bomb-disposal suits. Flashing lights from emergency response vehicles created a perimeter around the tobacco shop, a Hair Cuttery, H&R Block and pizza restaurant.
Police said the investigation was ongoing.
