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 euthanize animals.

Borough police Chief Troy Abelovsky said that at 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 saw a white man with a beard discard a cylinder on the north side porch of the building. He fled the area when approached.

He said officers arrived on location and discovered the cylinder with a “Chemical Hazards” label.

Officers created a safety perimeter and evacuated patrons from the American Legion.

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, discovering the inert compound.

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 man 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 the Allentown Bomb Squad from Lehigh County.