Police: No firearm on person questioned after reports of armed man in Palm Bay store

A heavy police presence was reported in and around a Malabar Road shopping Plaza near Interstate 95 early Tuesday after reports of an armed man seen lurking in a hardware store. The man, however, was located and questioned a short time later, but was unarmed.

Palm Bay police began getting calls at about 9 a.m. describing a man with a firearm in the area of the Harbor Freight store. Multiple Palm Bay Police cars arrived within minutes and began canvassing the area from Harbor Freight, a hardware store in the plaza, to as far north as Holiday Park, and police dogs from Melbourne were on the scene. The Brevard County sheriff's helicopter was also called out to the site.

It was not immediately known if any threats were made or why the man may have been at the store.

No injuries were reported. An investigation is ongoing.

J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com . X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Police: No firearm on person questioned after reports of armed man in Palm Bay store