Updated

A Veterans Affairs Medical Center in North Carolina is returning to normal operations after being evacuated and placed on lockdown for a bomb threat.

VA spokesman Bruce Sprecher said Thursday that emergency officials had given the all-clear after the facility in Fayetteville was searched.

The sprawling center was evacuated after an 8:35 a.m. phone call indicating there was an explosive device in the building. Most patients and workers were moved outside for about two hours while the search was conducted with bomb-sniffing dogs. No explosives were found.

FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch says there is no evidence the incident in Fayetteville is connected to any other matters involving VA facilities. A criminal investigation is now underway.