Employees and customers had to be evacuated Tuesday from Lowe’s on Charity Street in Abbeville.

A 911 call to Abbeville Police about a suspicious device, believed to be a pipe bomb, prompted the evacuation by police officers, as well as members of the Abbeville Fire Department, just after noon.

Customers and employees were taken out of the west end of the store and brought to safe distance. Two customers said the evacuation went smoothly.

Louisiana State Troopers, Abbeville Police and Abbeville Fire are still on the scene. State Troopers sent a robot in to search the store at 2:30 p.m. Upon retrieving the device, bomb experts with state troopers office blew up the device in containment box. That took place around 2:45 p.m.

No further details are available at this time.