NATCHEZ — Hours after a bomb threat was made to Cash Saver in Natchez, police have a suspect in custody.

Natchez Police Chief Cal Green said 18-year-old Ladarius Smith from Fayette has been apprehended in connection with the incident, which forced an emergency evacuation of multiple stores.

However, no explosives were found and no injuries have been reported.

Charges are still pending, Green said.

Shoppers were forced to abruptly end their holiday shopping and evacuate the Cash Saver and adjacent Dirt Cheap and Beauty Town stores in Natchez when someone called Cash Saver and said a bomb was inside.

Both stores, the nearby Regions Bank and the adjoining parking lot at 261 Devereux Drive closed to the public for about an hour and a half due to the threat.

“One of the managers answered the phone. A person called in saying it’s a bomb inside the store,” said Natchez Police Department Commander Jerry Ford shortly after the stores opened again around 1 p.m. Friday. “So they immediately called us and we came over and evacuated the store.”

Mississippi Highway Patrol brought in bomb-detecting K9s to check to make sure the store was clear before it reopened, Ford said.

“They came, checked the store and around the perimeter and made sure everything was safe,” he said.

A lot of shoppers were upset when police came in and told them they had to leave, he added.

“The seriousness of a threat like that is you never know when it’s true or not. We have to take all threats as though it could be real. Anytime a person says ‘bomb’ that’s (potential) mass destruction and it could end up costing several people their lives or serious injuries. So we have to take that seriously.”