Chief Jeff Bert of Tomball police said the incident happened at around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday when a man with the package walked into a T-Mobile store in the area of Tomball Parkway and Waller-Tomball Road.
According to the chief, the man was angered during a confrontation around that time. He then hit a button on a device with a blinking light, prompting police to be called.
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The Harris County Bomb Squad was called, and a robot was used to X-ray the device and then detonate it outside the business.
Loyd Wayne Noack, 66, was charged with terroristic threat and book into the Tomball City Jail.
It's not immediately known if the device contained explosives. The remnants of the device were sent to a lab for analysis, according to Tomball police.
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The nearby intersection was reopened around 4:45 p.m.
Given the timing of the call, police emphasized to ABC13 that the shopping center did not contain a polling location.
A search of Harris County voting centers showed Tomball Intermediate School, located about a mile away, as the closest.