Residents were ordered to evacuate parts of an Illinois community on Friday after the mayor said authorities found a bomb at a local ethanol and alcohol production plant. The discovery reported at BioUrja Renewables in Peoria triggered a mandatory evacuation in a one-mile evacuation zone encompassing sections of that city as well as the adjacent East Peoria Township. “It’s real, this is a real thing,” Peoria Mayor Rita Ali said, according to local news outlet WMBD. “We know it’s a real threat. We know it’s a bomb.” Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon said at a news conference early Saturday that bomb technicians had made the object in question safe. But Dixon asked the public for patience as investigators searched the sprawling BioUrja Renewals facility for other explosive devices, as Peoria news outlet WEEK reported. “We don’t know if there are other devices,” Ali said. Meanwhile, 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 those responsible “tirelessly” and “bring them to justice.” At approximately 7:05 p.m. local time on Friday, the Peoria Police Department had announced that officers were “actively investigating a bomb threat at BioUrja Renewables.” The agency then urged “anyone living or working 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 help evacuating their home or business could call for help. In a separate statement, the municipal government of neighboring East Peoria acknowledged that the evacuation zone associated with the package at BioUrja Renewables extended into part of that city. That area remained in effect as of 9 a.m. local time Saturday, the East Peoria government said. A hockey game, a Comic Con gathering and a dance-themed charity event scheduled for Saturday had been postponed, as WEEK reported. “This is not a hoax,” Illinois State Senator Dave Koehler said during an early Saturday news conference. “This has gone beyond… This is serious. This is serious.” Law enforcement receives bomb threats and suspicious package calls not infrequently. Although officials take such calls seriously as they investigate claims, they are often not verified as credible or substantial. Friday’s BioUrja Renewables case came amid a particularly chaotic day in the U.S. marked by a Federal Aviation Administration-ordered nationwide ground shutdown at U.S. airports that was in effect for about four hours, canceling or delaying more than 11,000 U.S. flights. The country’s nerves were also strained by a tanker truck that crashed into a cruise ship docked on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday afternoon. Rescuers had to rescue passengers from the river water after the cruise ship capsized on its side and more than 30 injuries were reported. But none of those injuries were critical and no deaths were reported in connection with the crash.
