Parts of Peoria and East Peoria, neighboring cities in Illinois, were evacuated on Friday night after what a city official described as a bomb was found in an industrial area along the riverfront.
Mayor Rita Ali of Peoria, a city of 110,000 residents, said emergency workers had discovered a bomb at the BioUrja ethanol plant, and that a one-mile radius around that facility was evacuated on both sides of the Illinois River, which separates the two cities.
Ms. Ali told local reporters that “there may have been deactivation of that device,” but cautioned that she could not say for sure. She urged people who lived or worked in the area around the plant to stay away. The evacuation order remained in effect early Saturday.
“We don’t know whether there’s one device or whether there’s multiple devices,” Ms. Ali said, adding that “this is a real crisis situation right now.”
For hours on Friday evening, parts of Peoria and East Peoria were shut down as city, state and federal officials swarmed the ethanol plant. For much of that time, the emergency had been described only as a bomb threat, not a verified bomb.
It was not immediately clear how many people lived in the evacuation zone, which included commercial and residential areas.
Officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene, and Illinois state troopers blocked traffic in the area. Jon Pardi, the country singer, canceled a concert in Peoria that had been scheduled for Friday, citing “an active local safety concern.”
State and federal officials, including Gov. JB Pritzker and Representative Darin LaHood, posted on social media that they were monitoring the situation and urged residents to heed evacuation orders. Ms. Ali told Peoria residents that they could take shelter in the basement of a local high school.
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