Police Say Explosive Capable of Harm Found at Columbia Motel

Authorities have evacuated some guests at a Columbia motel after they say a man found an explosive device in a nearby vacant parking lot and brought it inside.

Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Latisha Stroer said in a statement Monday night that officers responded to a Red Roof Inn motel after a suspicious device was reported.

She says a bomb squad was called in and officers evacuated one of the motel's buildings.

A robot removed the device, which Stroer says authorities found to be "capable of doing damage." She says it was "rendered safe."

No arrests have been made. An investigation is ongoing.

A man who says he found the device told the Columbia Daily Tribune he brought it inside because he didn't anyone else to come across it. He says he asked managers to call police.