Investigators search Peoria plant for other devices after bomb rendered safe; FBI investigating
Residents were ordered to evacuate parts of Peoria, Illinois, on Friday after Mayor Rita Ali said authorities found a bomb at BioUrja Renewables, a local ethanol- and alcohol-production plant. The discovery triggered a mandatory evacuation over a one-mile zone encompassing sections of that city as well as the adjacent municipality of East Peoria.
At about 7.05pm local time on Friday, the Peoria police department announced that officers were “actively investigating a reported bomb threat at BioUrja Renewables” and urged “anyone who lives or works within a one-mile radius of the facility to immediately evacuate their homes and businesses until further notice.” The police statement said the evacuation notice had been “issued out of an abundance of caution while officers and emergency personnel investigate the threat,” which officials initially referred to as a suspicious package. The city offered the Manual Academy school as a temporary shelter, and police said anyone who needed assistance evacuating their home or business could call for help.
At a news conference early on Saturday, Dixon said bomb technicians had rendered the object safe, as the Peoria news outlet WEEK reported. Dixon asked for the public’s patience as investigators searched BioUrja Renewables’ expansive facility for other explosive devices. The FBI said it is investigating. “We don’t know if there are other devices,” Ali said.
Three officials addressed the situation at or around the news conference. “It is real – this is a real thing,” Ali said, according to local news outlet WMBD. “We know that is a real threat. We know it is a bomb.” “This is not a hoax,” the Illinois state senator Dave Koehler said during the early Saturday news conference. “This has gone beyond that … This is serious. This is serious.” Ryan Presley of the FBI, who is in charge of the bureau’s field office about an hour away in Springfield, Illinois, said agents would pursue whoever was responsible “tirelessly” and “bring them to justice.”
In a separate statement, the municipal government of East Peoria acknowledged that the evacuation zone associated with the package at BioUrja Renewables extended into part of that city. The East Peoria government said it expected to provide an update at about 9am local time on Saturday, but in the meantime all evacuations would remain in place.
The BioUrja Renewables case came on a day that included a nationwide Federal Aviation Administration-ordered ground stop at US airports, in effect for about four hours, that canceled or delayed more than 11,000 US flights.
A tanker struck a cruise ship docked on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday afternoon. First responders rescued passengers from the river after the cruise ship turned on its side. There were more than 30 injuries reported, none of them critical, and no fatalities were reported in association with the crash.