A bomb discovered at a renewable fuel plant in Peoria, Illinois, prompted local authorities Friday evening to declare a one-mile blast radius and evacuate thousands of people around the facility, raising questions about possible attempted industrial sabotage.
Police discovered the package near the BioUrja facility at 2 p.m. local time on Friday.
Mayor Rita Ali confirmed: “We know it’s a credible threat. We know it’s a bomb,” noting that the plant handles ethanol and highly combustible chemicals.
Police Chief Brad Dixon emphasized this was not a hoax (unlike most bomb threats) and asked for public patience while the site is searched.
By 9:12 p.m., the bomb had been rendered safe.
“The area of BioUrja has not been rendered safe, just the package that was on site. It’s a large facility, there’s going to be an exhaustive search,” Dixon said during a press conference earlier this morning.
