UPDATE 5:20 p.m.
Officials say they have secured the area around the Stonebridge Shopping Center on Spout Spring Road in Flowery Branch following reports of suspicious packages in the parking lot.
Flowery Branch Police were dispatched around 1:15 p.m. Sunday to the area of the T.J. Maxx store after receiving a call from someone saying a male had left three suitcases in the parking lot.
Flowery Branch Deputy Police Chief Todd Templeton told AccessWDUN officers then secured the scene and called for assistance from other law enforcement.
"We had K9 deputies from the Hall County Sheriff's Office respond and received no alert when they checked the items," Templeton explained. "The GBI also responded, and they also gave the all-clear on the items."
Templeton confirmed that one male had been taken into custody. He did not provide the charges but said: "he [the male] provided some false information to officers."
The police investigation did not lead to a total lockdown of the area, and Templeton said he's sorry for any inconvenience anyone may have experienced.
"We appreciate the cooperation of the citizens that were here in the shopping center at the time," he said.
Original story posted 3:49 p.m.
A heavy police presence has been reported around the Stonebridge Shopping Center in Flowery Branch over what authorities tell AccessWDUN are "several suspicious packages."
"We don't think there's great cause for alarm," said Deputy Chief Todd Templeton with the Flowery Branch Police Department.
Templeton explained that authorities are working to ensure the scene is secure.
