Explosive Device Found at Peoria Ethanol Plant as More Than 5,000 Evacuate
More than 5,000 residents and workers were evacuated from around an ethanol plant in Peoria, Illinois, after a suspicious package found on Friday was deemed a credible threat and rendered safe by bomb technicians. The one-mile evacuation zone was lifted on Saturday afternoon, after investigators searched the sprawling site and found nothing else of concern. No arrests have been made and no injuries were reported.
Threat reported on Friday afternoon
BioUrja Renewables notified Peoria police at about 1:08 p.m. Central on Friday, 13 November, that the company had received a bomb threat, Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon said. A suspicious package arrived at the plant at about 2 p.m. By about 6:45 p.m., investigators had determined the package was a credible threat and established a one-mile evacuation zone covering parts of Peoria and East Peoria. Bomb technicians rendered the device safe at about 9:15 p.m. on Friday.
The plant, at 1 Edmund Street along the Illinois River, is a former Archer Daniels Midland site now run by BioUrja Renewables, which produces fuel ethanol and alcohol for beverages, hand sanitiser and detergents. The facility covers an area the size of about 44-and-a-half football fields, according to Reuters.
More than 5,000 people told to leave
CNN reported that more than 5,000 residents and workers were evacuated. People needing shelter were directed to Manual Academy at 811 S. Griswold Street in Peoria. Residents inside the zone were told to leave immediately; Chief Dixon said they “should absolutely evacuate the area.”
The evacuation remained in place through Saturday morning as officers searched the plant for other devices and evidence. Claims circulating on social media suggested multiple bombs had been found, but officials said they had confirmed only one device.
Evacuation lifted on Saturday afternoon
At about 1 p.m. Central on Saturday, Peoria and East Peoria lifted the evacuation after crews finished searching the plant and found no other suspicious objects, Chief Dixon said. The police department said in a statement that nothing “of concern” was found.
The investigation, however, is far from over. Agents from the FBI’s Springfield office and explosives experts from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are helping Peoria police and Illinois State Police search for whoever was responsible. No suspect has been identified and no motive has been established.
Dixon declined to describe the device in detail, saying the process of determining its composition was still under way. He said the one-mile blast radius was set not only on the basis of the device itself, but also because of the materials stored nearby.
A chaotic Friday across the United States
The scare came on a Friday already marked by nationwide disruption, when a communications failure forced the Federal Aviation Administration to order a nationwide ground stop, halting every departing flight in the United States.
It was also the second explosive-device scare in as many days: on Friday, a crude but viable device was defused near the venue of a summit dinner in Dublin.
What happens next
Investigators have not said when the plant will return to normal operations, and the BioUrja Group of Houston, Texas, the plant’s owner, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Police have asked anyone with information to come forward as the investigation continues.
