On a late autumn weekend in Peoria, Illinois, a quiet riverside industrial district along the Illinois River was briefly turned into a zone of fear. A suspicious package found near the BioUrja ethanol plant was judged a credible threat, sending everyone within a mile from their homes until it was rendered safe Friday night. The people who were displaced can now return, but the deeper questions remain unanswered: what the object was, who placed it there, and whether the surrounding grounds hold more. In that uncertainty, the city's relief is real but provisional.
Peoria Evacuation Lifted After Bomb Threat Near BioUrja Ethanol Plant; Device Rendered Safe
Residents within a one-mile radius were forced from their homes during the evacuation, and some needed shelter at Manual Academy.
Only the package had been made safe, not the site.
Mark
Residents are back home. Does that mean the danger is over?
Mimi
Not entirely. The package was made safe at 9:12 p.m. Friday, but the chief said the plant itself has not been declared safe. A search of the facility is still under way.
Luke
And that's worth holding onto. The lifting of the evacuation is confirmed. Whether anything else is on site is simply unknown right now.
Mark
Why was this treated so seriously?
Mimi
The mayor pointed to what the plant holds: ethanol and highly combustible chemicals. That's what alarmed the city.
Luke
That's her characterization, to be fair. It explains the caution, but it isn't an assessment of what the device could have done.
Mark
What do we know about the device?
Mimi
Very little. Chief Dixon said there's still no explanation of what it was.
Luke
Right. "Credible threat" and "rendered safe" are police determinations. They haven't said what was in the package or who left it.
Mark
Who is investigating?
Mimi
The FBI is working with Peoria police and fire, the county sheriff, the Illinois Secretary of State's Office and State Police. The governor directed State Police to coordinate.
Luke
The FBI's promise to find whoever is responsible is a pledge, not a finding. No suspect has been named in this reporting.
Il Polso
- A suspicious package near the BioUrja ethanol plant forced a sudden evacuation of everyone within a one-mile radius of the riverside facility.
- Police still cannot say what the device was, and the question hangs over the city as residents wait for answers.
- Investigators are sweeping the wider BioUrja site for other possible devices, a search police describe as exhaustive.
- Residents have been allowed home and businesses have reopened, but the FBI and several state and local agencies are pursuing whoever is responsible.
On a late autumn weekend in Peoria, Illinois, a quiet riverside industrial district along the Illinois River was briefly turned into a zone of fear. A suspicious package found near the BioUrja ethanol plant was judged a credible threat, sending everyone within a mile from their homes until it was rendered safe Friday night. The people who were displaced can now return, but the deeper questions remain unanswered: what the object was, who placed it there, and whether the surrounding grounds hold more. In that uncertainty, the city's relief is real but provisional.
Friday afternoon, a little after two o'clock, Peoria police reported a suspicious package near the BioUrja ethanol plant in the southern part of the city, along the Illinois River. Hours later, authorities judged it a credible threat, and everyone within a mile of the plant was ordered out of their homes. Many spent the night in uncertainty, and some made their way to Manual Academy for shelter. Country singer Jon Pardi canceled his Friday concert in the affected area, telling fans he was sorry not to spend the night with the city.
At 9:12 p.m., the package was rendered safe. Police Chief Brad Dixon was careful at a Saturday press conference, noting that the package had been secured but the site had not. Crews were still searching the wider facility for other devices, and the nature of the object had not been explained. The plant's ethanol and highly combustible chemicals, as Mayor Rita Ali noted, were the reason officials had treated the threat so seriously.
By one o'clock Saturday, the evacuation order was lifted for residents within the zone, and businesses could resume normal operations. The FBI, along with the Peoria Police and Fire Departments, the county sheriff, the Illinois Secretary of State's Office, and Illinois State Police, is working the case. Agents have promised to pursue the person responsible. For now, the city is home again, with its central question still open.
By one o'clock Saturday afternoon, the people of Peoria, Illinois, who had been pushed out of their homes the day before were told they could go back. The city of East Peoria announced that residents inside a one-mile evacuation zone could return and that businesses there could resume normal operations. The order had held for roughly a day.
It began Friday at about 2 p.m., when Peoria police said a suspicious package was found near the BioUrja ethanol plant in the southern part of the city, along the Illinois River. Some hours later, authorities determined the package represented a credible threat. That finding led to the evacuation of everyone within a mile.
Police Chief Brad Dixon said the package was rendered safe at 9:12 p.m. Friday. At a Saturday press conference he was careful about what that did and did not mean. There was still, he said, no explanation of what the device was, and the investigation was continuing. He also drew a line around the success: only the package had been made safe, not the site. Searches for other possible devices were going on across the wider area. "It's a large facility; there's going to be an exhaustive search," he said.
The plant is the reason officials took the threat so seriously. Peoria Mayor Rita Ali told WMBD News late Friday that the facility holds ethanol and highly combustible chemicals, and that this was what alarmed the city.
Several agencies are working the case. FBI Special Agent Ryan Presley said his office sent personnel to work alongside the Peoria Police Department, the Peoria Fire Department, the Peoria County Sheriff's Department, the Illinois Secretary of State's Office and Illinois State Police. "While it is early in the investigation, know this: we will work tirelessly to identify the individual responsible and bring them to justice," he said. Gov. Pritzker wrote on social media that he was monitoring the situation and had directed Illinois State Police to coordinate with local authorities.
For residents, the cost was displacement. The Peoria Police Department posted on Facebook that anyone needing shelter should go to nearby Manual Academy. The disruption also reached the entertainment calendar: country singer Jon Pardi canceled his Friday concert in Peoria because the venue was in the affected area, telling fans they were disappointed not to spend the night with the city.
Peoria sits in central Illinois, about 75 miles north of Springfield and 150 miles southwest of Chicago. With the evacuation over, the open questions are the ones police have not answered: what the device was, who left it, and whether anything else is on the BioUrja grounds. The department says updates will follow as the investigation continues.
Citazioni salienti
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.— Police Chief Brad Dixon
We will work tirelessly to identify the individual responsible and bring them to justice.— FBI Special Agent Ryan Presley
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