Empty unattended suitcase briefly closes T.J. Maxx in Rossford

The store was closed for more than one hour as police investigated the suspicious item.

An empty, unattended suitcase set in front of a trash can outside a TJ Maxx store in Rossford temporarily closed the store Saturday morning while officers investigated the "suspicious package."

The navy, medium-sized, soft-shell suitcase was reported to police just before 11 a.m. Rossford police, the Toledo police Northwest Ohio Bomb Squad, and a Toledo police bomb-sniffing dog responded to the strip-mall store, flanked by a Michaels craft store and Target, at 9840 Fremont Pike. Shoppers were able to visit all but the discount clothing and housewares store while officers x-rayed the suitcase and ruled it empty and harmless.

The store reopened at about 12:30 p.m.

The responding Toledo police units left a previously scheduled "Family Safety Day" at Franklin Park Mall, which was from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.