Emergency crews responded after 6 p.m. Wednesday evening to a report of a bomb scare at a parking lot of a business in the East Hills Business Park.

A bomb squad from Overland Park was called to the scene. Police blocked access to the site and asked nearby observers, including reporters, not to talk on their cell phones.

Shortly after 9 p.m., crews apparently tried to “disrupt” the unknown device, shouting “Fire in the hole!” But only a muffled popping sound was heard, not an explosion.

Lawrence Police Capt. Dan Affalter said a man leaving Pearson Government Solutions at 5:35 p.m. and saw something hanging under his vehicle. He pulled it away from the vehicle.

“It appeared to be a pipe bomb or some kind of device,” Affalter said, about a foot to a foot-and-a-half long.

Police have set up their command center in the parking lot of Pearson Government Solutions. FBI and ATF agents were also on the scene.

Affalter said investigators, at 9:30 p.m., were still trying to determine the nature of the unknown item, using remote-controlled equipment.