Bomb Found at Peoria, Illinois Ethanol Plant: More Than 5,000 Evacuated, Device Rendered Safe as Search Continues Into Saturday
An explosive device was found on November 13 at an ethanol plant in Peoria, Illinois, where police judged it a credible threat and evacuated more than 5,000 residents and workers within a one-mile blast radius; bomb technicians rendered the device safe that night, but the search of the plant had not been completed and the evacuation order remained in effect on November 14, with no injuries and no arrests reported so far.
Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon said at a news conference early on November 14 that BioUrja Renewables notified police of a bomb threat at 1:08 p.m. on November 13, and officers located a suspicious package at the plant at about 2 p.m. Police determined at 6:45 p.m. that the package was a credible threat, set a one-mile blast radius and sent evacuation notifications at 7:02 p.m. Bomb technicians rendered the device safe at 9:12 p.m.
Peoria Mayor Rita Ali said late on November 13: "We know it's a credible threat. We know it's a bomb." She said it was not yet known whether there were other devices at the plant. Dixon said bomb threats are not uncommon in the United States and usually turn out to be illegitimate, but this one was not a hoax; the facility is large, the exhaustive search had not been completed, and the evacuation order would stay in place until it was.
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, and that investigators would work to identify the person responsible. The Peoria Fire Department, the Peoria County Sheriff's Department and the Illinois Secretary of State's office also took part in the response.
The evacuation covered residential and commercial areas within one mile of the plant on both sides of the Illinois River, in Peoria and East Peoria. Shelters were set up at Manual Academy in Peoria and the EastSide Centre sports complex in East Peoria, with about 75 people staying at Manual Academy as of early November 14. Police expected evacuations to continue into Saturday afternoon and planned another media update around noon on Saturday.
The BioUrja Renewables plant, on Edmund Street along the Illinois River in Peoria, was formerly owned by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM); BioUrja bought it in late 2021. It produces ethanol used in beverages, hand sanitizers and adhesives.
(Source: Peoria Police Department)
Reference: CNN
Source: Peoria Police Department
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：伊利诺伊河畔的 Peoria 市区（资料图），事发乙醇厂位于该市河畔工业区。Scott Tranchitella 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Downtown Peoria on the Illinois River (file photo); the ethanol plant is in the city's riverfront industrial area. By Scott Tranchitella, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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