Police are being tight-lipped one day after two marine flares were ignited at a Lake Walls shopping mall.

  • Flares ignited Sunday night at Polk County mall
  • Parts of device could lead to clues to who made it
  • Investigators looking for persons of interest

The incident happened just before 5:30 p.m. at the Eagle Ridge Mall, next to the JC Penney.

Damage was fairly minimal, but smoke from the device set off fire alarms. Part of a drop ceiling was blown to the floor, and a wall of the corridor was singed.

The Lake Wales Fire Department found a backpack in the corridor with more devices inside, leading investigators to think that whoever set off the device may have been planning to set off more, Deputy Chief Troy Schulze said in a news release.

"Bomb technicians examined the contents of the backpack and determined it did not contain any incendiary or explosive devices," an FBI spokesperson said in a news release. "There is no current indication of any terrorist connection to this incident."

The Polk County Sheriff's Office, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad are assisting with the investigation.

Police say they're looking for two people they wish to interview. The first is described as a white, middle-aged man with a stocky build and was wearing a gray shirt and a gray hat. The second is described as a white man, anywhere from 20-40 years old, wearing a dark colored hat and dark jacket.

"Was it the intent to burn or was it the intent to commit another crime? We don't know," Schulze said Tuesday.