Suspect in threat to blow up Portsmouth pharmacy in custody

A man is in police custody after a threat to blow up a Rite Aid drug store on the 1100 block of London Blvd..

A man entered the store at 2:42 p.m., approached the manager and demanded a narcotic, said Jan Westerbeck, police spokeswoman. He told the manager a bomb would go off in five minutes if the manager did not comply. Police would not specify what narcotic he wanted.

All employees and store patrons got out of the building, Westerbeck said. The man was left inside, wearing an object around his neck, which he said was the device that would go off, she said.

Police SWAT members entered the store and waited for State Police bomb technicians, Westerbeck said.

A loud noise was heard at 4:46 p.m. and a puff of smoke was visible in the vicinity of the store's drive-through lane, where bomb technicians disposed of the device.

The device was roughly three by five inches and resembled a keyboard or keypad, Westerbeck said.

Roads in the area were blocked as a precaution, but traffic is now moving again in the area.

No injuries were reported.

Virginia Beach police are investigating a similar incident that occurred Sunday night, said Adam Bernstein, police spokesman.

Bernstein said that at about 8 p.m. on Sunday, a white male entered a Rite Aid store on the 3600 block of Virginia Beach Blvd., went to the pharmacy counter and demanded OxyContin. He insinuated he had some sort of device, Bernstein said.

The clerk complied, gave the man the drugs and he fled the store, Bernstein said.

Police plan to interview the man in Portsmouth police custody to determine if there is a connection between the two incidents, Bernstein said.