Bomb found at Illinois ethanol plant forces evacuations as FBI hunts for who left it

A bomb found at an ethanol plant in central Illinois forced the evacuation of everyone living within a mile of the site, and the FBI is investigating who left the device there.

The bomb was found on Friday afternoon at the BioUrja Renewables facility in Peoria, a city of around 110,000 people about 150 miles south-west of Chicago. The discovery sparked evacuations of homes near the industrial site as law enforcement officers moved in to investigate, the authorities said on Saturday.

The device has since been rendered safe, but as of Saturday morning all residents within a one-mile radius remained under an evacuation notice while officials continued to scour the facility for any other bombs and for evidence. Shelters were set up for the people forced to leave their homes.

No arrests had been made, and no injuries had been reported. The FBI is leading the investigation into who planted the device and why.

A credible threat

Peoria's police chief, Brad Dixon, spoke to reporters just after midnight on Saturday, and left no doubt about how seriously the authorities were taking the discovery. "This is a credible threat," he said. "We need to take the blast radius seriously."

Dixon also acknowledged the disruption the evacuation was causing. "We understand that this is a disruptive process for our residents and guests," he said. "We're asking for the public's patience while we work to make this area safe."

The concern is not only the device itself but where it was found. The BioUrja plant sits along the Illinois River and produces ethanol, a highly flammable fuel. Peoria's mayor, Rita Ali, told local television station WMBD-TV on Friday that the plant holds ethanol and highly combustible types of chemicals, and that this was what alarmed officials.

An ethanol plant is, by its nature, a hazardous place for an explosive device. The fuel and chemicals stored on site could turn a small blast into a much larger fire, which is why the evacuation zone was set at a full mile and why officers are searching the whole facility for further devices before anyone is allowed back.

The FBI special agent leading the investigation, Ryan Pressley, said agents would work tirelessly to identify the person responsible and bring them to justice. For now, though, the authorities have said little about who might have planted the bomb or what motive they might have had.

A city waits for answers

For the residents inside the evacuation zone, Saturday began with uncertainty. Shelters were opened for those who had nowhere else to go, and families were left waiting to hear when they would be allowed home.

The evacuation order covers everyone within a mile of the plant, a wide area in a city where homes and industry sit close together along the river. Officials have not said how long the order will stay in place, only that it will remain until the facility has been fully searched and declared safe.

The BioUrja plant has been part of Peoria's industrial landscape since the company acquired the ethanol facility in 2021. It is one of a string of plants along the Illinois River that process corn into fuel, and its presence in the city has rarely made national news before now.

Hoaxes and real alarms

The Peoria bomb comes at a moment when American law enforcement is already on edge about bomb threats. It is not unusual for police to receive bomb threats and calls about suspicious packages, but they often do not result in a credible threat, and many turn out to be hoaxes.

Earlier in the week, hundreds of airline passengers in Europe had flights diverted or were given military escorts after a series of bomb threats that officials have since declared were malicious hoaxes. The contrast with Peoria is sharp: there, the threat was not a phone call but a real device, found inside an industrial plant.

That difference is why the response in Peoria has been so extensive. A hoax can be dismissed once it is checked; a real bomb has to be made safe, the area has to be searched, and the person who left it has to be found.

The investigation will now focus on the evidence recovered from the plant: the device itself, any fingerprints or DNA on it, and the security camera footage from the facility and the surrounding area. The FBI's involvement suggests the case is being treated as a federal matter, which would be consistent with an explosive device found at an industrial facility.

Until the evacuation order is lifted and an arrest is made, Peoria will remain a city waiting for answers: about who planted a bomb at its ethanol plant, about why they chose that target, and about whether the site is now safe for the people who live beside it.