By Sarah Light and Sarah Kirchner, staff writers

Albert Lea Wal-Mart employees and customers evacuated the store Friday when officials at the retail establishment received two calls for a bomb threat &8212; which turned out to be a false alarm.

A third threat came that afternoon, but managers did not evacuate the store.

Albert Lea Police Chief Dwaine Winkels said at about 11:15 a.m. police received a 911 call from a Wal-Mart employee who said a male caller had made a bomb threat to the store that morning.

After police arrived at the store, the person called again, saying that the explosive device would go off at noon, Winkels said.

Managers had already made the decision to evacuate the store right away, and customers and employees were doing so when the second call was received, said Marisa Bluestone with Wal-Mart media relations.

&8220;The safety and security of our customers and our employees is our top priority,&8221; Bluestone said. &8220;This is something we take very seriously.&8221;

Albert Lea police and firefighters searched the building thoroughly, and no sign of a bomb was found. At that point, employees were allowed to re-enter the building to get the store back in order for customers.

Bluestone said the store was re-opened to customers after about two hours.

Bomb threats are very rare in this area, Winkels said. This is the first bomb threat he can recall that Wal-Mart has received.

Glenville resident Bonnie Ringoen recounted her experience at the time the building was evacuated, as she sat outside on the curb near the gas station next to Wal-Mart while evacuated.

Ringoen said she was in the checkout line with her 5-year-old grandson, Dominik, when an announcement came that there was a Code Blue in the store and that everyone needed to leave the building immediately.

Customers left their purchases inside, and the evacuation went smoothly, she said. Everyone who had been inside the store gathered outside near the front of the building.

Some customers were able to leave in their cars before police arrived, but some had to stay put until the threat was cleared.

A short while later, police instructed the evacuees to step back further, and everyone moved to the far end of the parking lot, Ringoen said.

&8220;We came to buy a birthday present and go have lunch at Subway, but so much for that,&8221; Ringoen said with a laugh.

Albert Lea Police Department and Fire Department workers searched the building for evidence of the bomb, and employees were allowed to walk back inside the store at about 12:35 p.m.

Customers were allowed back in the store a short while later.

Just before 3 p.m. another bomb threat was called in to Wal-Mart, but this time the store managers decided not to evacuate.

Lt. J.D. Carlson said the third threat was no different than the morning threats. Four officers were at the scene along with two detectives.

&8220;It could be the same as the first one or it could be somebody different,&8221; Carlson said.

Winkels said he knew why Wal-Mart did not evacuate after the 3 p.m. call, but he could not release that information.

The Police Department will continue to investigate the incidents, Winkels said. No other information about the caller could be released.