A bomb found at an ethanol plant in Peoria, Illinois, has been rendered safe, but thousands of residents remain under evacuation orders on Saturday as police and federal agents search the sprawling facility for more explosives.
Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon said the device was neutralised at about 9:15 p.m. on Friday — more than seven hours after the plant reported the threat — but the BioUrja Renewables facility at 1 Edmund Street has not been cleared, and evacuations are expected to continue well into Saturday afternoon.
"A device has been identified. We know it's a credible threat. We know it's a bomb," Peoria Mayor Rita Ali told reporters in the early hours of Saturday. "We don't know if there are other devices."
The plant, widely known locally as the former ADM facility on Peoria's riverfront, notified police at about 1:08 p.m. on Friday that the company had received a bomb threat. A suspicious package arrived at the plant at about 2 p.m., and by 6:45 p.m. investigators had concluded it was a genuine explosive threat.
Police ordered everyone living or working within a one-mile radius of the plant to evacuate at 7:02 p.m. on Friday. The zone reaches across the Illinois River into neighbouring East Peoria, and most streets inside it were closed.
About 75 people spent the night at an emergency shelter set up at Manual Academy, 811 S. Griswold Street, in Peoria, while others stayed with family or friends. The shelter remained open on Saturday morning.
The FBI has joined the investigation, and explosives specialists from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene. Ryan Presley, special agent in charge of the FBI's Springfield office, said federal agents were asked to assist Peoria police and were working alongside multiple law enforcement agencies, but declined to provide further details.
Dixon said at a news conference at 12:40 a.m. on Saturday that the facility is large and searching it will take time. Police promised another public update at about noon on Saturday.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said he was monitoring the developments, with state police supporting the response. East Peoria officials said evacuation restrictions would remain in effect and promised a further update no later than 9 a.m. on Saturday.
BioUrja Renewables produces beverage-grade and highly distilled industrial alcohol at the riverfront plant. Authorities have not said who made the threat or what motive may lie behind it, and have not confirmed whether additional devices are present.
