Garner, N.C. — Garner police said they did not find an explosive device after evacuating dozens of apartments in a complex near Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 70 Sunday.

Police said a tip from the Harnett County Sheriff's Office at 11:30 a.m. led them to evacuate 36 apartments in three buildings at Abberly Place Apartment Homes, 500 Abberly Crest Blvd. 

A robot operated by State Bureau of Investigation agents entered a ground apartment, and a three-hour search did not turn up anything suspicious, police said.

Resident Joe Armstrong said he was watching the Carolina game on TV when Garner police officers knocked on his door, telling him to leave.

"They just said everybody had to leave the building right now. They had an emergency situation," Armstrong said. "It's a pretty scary deal. I know they don't evacuate for no reason."

"I just happened to see a police officer pull a yellow tape out of his truck and started mapping off the building with yellow tape. Then, all of a sudden, police officers started coming in," resident Kandyce Laclair said. "We didn't think much of it at first until we saw the bomb squad come in."

Residents have been allowed back into their homes.

Police did not elaborate on what prompted the tip from Harnett County authorities.

"There was a man involved with the Harnett County Sheriff's Office. That's where Harnett County got their information from — a person they were involved with — but we don't know who that person is," Garner police Lt. Wayne Moore said.

Moore said police were working with the Harnett County Sheriff's Office to investigate the tip.