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The Giant Food Store in the Cabin John Shopping Center was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after several employees and customers reported feeling sick after smelling gas. However, no gas leak was found, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue service.

Fire and Rescue personnel responded around 1:20 p.m. and evacuated the Giant as they tried to determine the source of the smell. A hazardous materials team also responded, Garcia said. Around 3 p.m., officials were investigating the possibility of a gas or Freon leak, but by around 3:30 p.m. they had ruled out both of those possibilities. Since the store sells food, health officials were on the scene and were tasked with giving the final go-ahead for the store to re-open, Garcia said.

About 14 people complained of feeling sick and having trouble breathing, Garcia said. Six of those – two Giant customers and four employees – were transported to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital and Suburban Hospital for evaluation, Garcia said.

Officials still aren't sure what made them sick, he said.

During the incident, police temporarily closed off access points to the shopping center. Several businesses surrounding the Giant — Breadsmith, Chevy Chase Bank, My Eye Doctor, and Celebrity Deli — were also evacuated, most between 1:30 and 3 p.m. Other stores in the Cabin John Shopping Center appeared to be deserted, and Garcia said some businesses made their own determinations to evacuate.

Brenda Bennaim, who owns Breadsmith along with her husband Tamir, said business was interrupted when they were told to evacuate. The bakery is located next door to the Giant store.

"My husband went out back and he said he could smell something out there," Bennaim said. After 3 p.m., however, business was back to normal and the store quickly crowded again with customers.

"We were going to go to Robek's, but it looked closed," said Serenah Polite, 16, coming out of the bakery with a few fellow Winston Churchill High School students.

"We got bread instead," said Ale Martinez, 17.

The Giant store re-opened around 4:30 p.m., according to Jamie Miller, a spokesman for Giant. "The store manager became aware that a couple of our customers became ill and some of our associates reported feeling ill, and immediately evacuated the store," Miller said. "Obviously the safety and well being of our customers is our number one priority."