Person detained after homemade firework explodes at Orange County shopping center

One person was detained after a homemade firework exploded Tuesday afternoon at the Village at Tustin Legacy shopping center, according to authorities.

No one was injured when the firework went off, and there was no damage, said Lt. Matt Nunley, a spokesperson for the Tustin Police Department.

Officers responded to calls about a loud noise and smoke near the center just after 1 p.m. Once they arrived, they evacuated a Bank of America branch and two restaurants “for safety reasons, not knowing what it was,” Nunley said.

He said the firework went off next to a sidewalk, near an outdoor area with plants.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad responded to the scene as a precaution, Nunley said, but the incident appears to be isolated. He said a rumor that the FBI had gotten involved was not true.

The scene was cleared by about 3 p.m.

Tustin police officers detained one person who walked away from the area where the firework went off, witnesses said. Nunley said the person was being questioned, but it wasn’t immediately clear if an arrest would be made.