N.J. Department Store Evacuated After Shoppers Get Sick

A N.J. department store was evacuated Sunday night after an unknown substance began to make shoppers sick, police said.

The store was evacuated at around 9 p.m. after employees began telling customers to leave, and some shoppers were coughing, choking and vomiting, CBS2’s Brian Webb reported.

The substance in the Secaucus Kohl’s seemed to be coming from the front of the store by the cash registers,

Officials said at least a dozen people were affected, and firefighters and ambulances were still on scene treated sick store customers at around 11 p.m. Sunday night, according to the reports.

“It was in the air and everybody had it all around the registers,” John Seboroski, a shopper, told CBS2. “When I got outside, my wife was in pretty bad shape.”

Police say they received a call of a chemical smell in the air at Kohl’s, located on 3 Mill Creek Drive, after a few customers reported difficulty breathing, according to PIX11.

Local fire, police and hazmat were on the scene Sunday night attempting to determine the smell’s source, saying an investigation is ongoing, the report said.