By Juliana A. Torres
Staff Writer

St. Cloud police investigated two bomb threats Tuesday, one at the St. Cloud Regional Medical Center during the morning and a second that is still under investigation at the local Walmart.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office bomb squad is currently investigating a suspicious device found near a tree on the Bank of America property in the Walmart plaza, at the intersection of 13th Street and Old Canoe Creek Road. Police were not sure what the device was, but treated it as an explosive device until it can be determined otherwise.

The manager of the Walmart in St. Cloud received a call at around 1:43 p.m. about a bomb in the store that would go off in 30 minutes. Responding St. Cloud police found a suspicious device at the bank property and extended the perimeter to include the area. The businesses in the complex, including the bank, Sonic, Murphy USA and the Walmart were evacuated as a precaution. A bomb-sniffing dog from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office was brought in and a bomb squad from Orange County requested.

Earlier Tuesday, at around 6:17 a.m., a male voice called to say there was bomb at the St. Cloud hospital, St. Cloud Police Sgt. Boyd Graham said. The caller did not give a time limit in the first call, Boyd said. Police determined it would be more dangerous to move critical patients from the hospital while they searched for the bomb. However, they did not find anything.

Police have no suspects in the investigation, which is currently on hold until the potential bomb is dealt with, after which the Walmart itself will be searched with the bomb-sniffing dog, Boyd said.

U.S. Highway 192 remains unblocked, as it is a safe distance from the device, he said.