A device discovered Monday afternoon at the Lehighton American Legion was determined to be undeployed and contained an inert chemical compound used to produce a toxic fume and dispatch animals.

Borough police Chief Troy Abelovsky said that at around 3:05 p.m., the borough police department responded to a suspicious package found at the American Legion, 314 Veterans Ave.

Abelovsky said a patron of the American Legion observed a white male with a beard, discard a cylinder type item on the north side porch of the building and flee the area when approached.

He said officers arrived on location and discovered the item to be cylinder in shape with marking displayed, “Chemical Hazards.” Officers created a safety perimeter and evacuated the American Legion of all remaining patrons.

Abelovsky said vehicle traffic on Bridge Street and Millway were closed.

He said due to the circumstances of the event and unknown device type or motive, the Allentown Bomb Squad was contacted and responded. The Allentown Bomb squad arrived and conducted a scan of the device.

Abelovsky said the device was determined to be undeployed and contain an inert chemical compound used to produce a toxic fume and dispatch animals.

He said the item was removed from the scene and disposed of by the Allentown Bomb Squad without incident.

Abelovsky said no one was injured in this event.

He said the identity of the male subject is unknown and still under investigation.

Abelovsky said the scene was cleared, traffic resumed and patrons were permitted to return into the building at around 6:10 p.m.

He said assisting on location were the Lehighton Fire Department, Lehighton Ambulance, Carbon County Emergency Management, District Attorney and County Detectives, and Allentown Bomb Squad (Lehigh County).