Device deemed ‘credible threat’ triggers evacuation around ethanol plant in Peoria, Illinois

Detailed summary

​FBI Special Agent Ryan Presley told media that authorities had determined that a “suspicious package was a threat and rendered it safe,” with police continuing to search the site.

A suspicious device at an ethanol plant in Peoria, Illinois, triggered evacuations within a one-mile radius, with local events forced to cancel as investigations continue.

Police and federal authorities said early Saturday that they had found a device deemed a “credible threat” and rendered it safe, without giving details as to its nature.

Searches were ongoing and the evacuation order remains in place, Peoria Chief of Police Brad Dixon told a press conference.

“We’re going to have to search the entire property,” Dixon said, referring to the BioUrja ethanol plant.

The area “has not been rendered safe,” he said. “There’s going to be an exhaustive search of the facility that has not been completed yet.”

“I don’t want to get into how many we found, where we found them,” he added, but said those living in a one-mile radius “should absolutely evacuate the area.”

Mayor of Peoria Rita Ali told NBC affiliate WEEK there was an “all hands on deck” response, saying: “A device has been identified. We know it’s a credible threat. We know it’s a bomb.”

​FBI Special Agent Ryan Presley told media that FBI personnel, along with local and state police, had determined a “suspicious package was a threat and rendered it safe.”

Congressman Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) met with evacuees at Peoria Emanual High School on Friday night.

Opening of the article, excerpted from NBC News. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.