The Lowe's store located on U.S. 441 in Leesburg was evacuated Saturday afternoon after an employee noticed a man acting suspicious in the store.
The employee asked the man, later identified as 55-year-old James Edward Hilliard, to leave the store earlier Saturday morning. Hilliard then walked to his car that was parked near the lumber section in the parking lot and pulled out two containers that he started pouring liquid into, police said.
Leesburg police were called, and they detained the Hilliard.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office's bomb squad was called in to dispose of the containers.
The store was evacuated around 12:35 p.m. but returned to normal activity shortly after the evacuation.
A water cannon was used to destroy the devices, which were determined not to be actual explosives, according to Lake County deputies.
Hilliard was arrested and charged with multiple crimes in connection to the incident. He was being transported and booked into the Lake County Jail.