BRIDGEWATER, VA (Rocktown Now) — The Bridgewater Police Department is investigating a potential bomb threat after the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call from an unidentified female reporting that she had seen someone with a “homemade bomb” outside Marshalls, located at 701 N. Main Street in the Town of Bridgewater today, October 2, at approximately 11:47 AM.

Chief Steve Cason reports that Bridgewater Police Department officers arrived on scene within minutes and immediately began investigating the report. As a precaution, officers worked with Marshalls security personnel to evacuate the facility.

K-9 officers from the Elkton Police Department and the Virginia State Police were requested to assist with a search of the premises. Those searches remain ongoing.

The Bridgewater Police Department is asking members of the public to avoid the area around Marshalls as much as possible while the investigation and searches are underway.

Additional information will be released as it becomes available.