A Friday evening shopping outing turned scary – and not in a Halloween holiday way – for shoppers at the Albertville Premium Outlets last week.
According to witnesses, a small explosion sent people scurrying near the Nike outlet store – located at the southwest corner of the outlet mall – shortly before stores closed on Friday night.
Though no one was hurt, damage was done to a garbage can and to the exterior of the mall building, witnesses said.
The Wright County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Saturday:
Wright County deputies responded to the Albertville Outlet mall (6415 Labeaux AV. NE) for a report of a possible explosion. Deputies located a garbage can that had been damaged with evidence of a small explosion in the garbage can. The garbage can was located outside of the Nike Outlet store. Witnesses at the scene described seeing a flash and then hearing an explosion from the garbage can. There were no reported injuries due to the incident. There was damage reported to the garbage can and slight damage to the exterior of the building. The incident is under further investigation by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota State Fire Marshall, and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives)
If you were at the Outlet Mall and feel you may have witnessed something related to this incident or you believe you may have any information about this incident, you are asked to contact the Wright County Sheriff’s Office 763-682-1162.
North Wright County Today will have more on this story if there are any arrests or charges.