BIDDEFORD — The Route 111 Wal-Mart was evacuated after an automated bomb threat Saturday, but no bombs were found.

Biddeford Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk stated in an email that police and firefighters responded to the call around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The store was evacuated for a short time while public safety officials did primary and secondary searches, according to Fisk, and no bombs were found.

The caller ID showed a private number for the bomb threat call, said Fisk.

The local Wal-Mart was one of a number of Wal-Mart locations that received threats Saturday. The Associated Press reports that Wal-Mart stores in Scarborough, Waterville, Falmouth, Houlton, Skowhegan, Windham, Thomaston and Newport received similar threats, but no bombs were found at these locations either.

A Wal-Mart spokesman told WCSH-TV that the retailer often receives bomb threats around Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, according to The Associated Press.

Off-duty York County Sheriff Deputy Gil Hudson was out Christmas shopping Saturday night with his wife and another couple at the Scarborough Wal-Mart. As they approached the toy section, they were told by a Wal-Mart employee that there was a “code blue” and they needed to evacuate the store, he said in an email. Hudson said they, along with the other shoppers and the Wal-Mart employees, exited the store.

“The evacuation went very smooth,” he said. Scarborough police were on scene within a matter of minutes and Wal-Mart employees were near the roadway advising customers they could not go in the store.

“It was apparent we were not going to be able to go back in so we drove over to Target and did some shopping,” said Hudson.