Horror moment politician admits 'we cannot guarantee safety' after bomb found

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A politician admitted "we cannot guarantee safety" after a bomb was found at a fuel plant. Emergency services rushed to the scene at the BioUrja Renewables facility in Peoria,…

A politician admitted "we cannot guarantee safety" after a bomb was found at a fuel plant. Emergency services rushed to the scene at the BioUrja Renewables facility in Peoria, Illinois, following reports of a suspicious package at around 2.15pm on Friday (8.15pm in the UK). Local police then issued an urgent evacuation order shortly after 7pm local time, triggering a series of late-night briefings.

In a clip shared on X, Eric Sorensen, the Democrat Representative for Illinois's 17th Congressional District, admitted: "We cannot guarantee the safety of the city of Peoria right now." It came after Rita Ali, Peoria Mayor, told local media: "A device has been identified, we known it's a credible threat, we know it's a bomb."

Police established a one-mile evacuation radius around the facility, stretching both sides of the Illinois River. Local roads have also been shut, impacting local events such as the Peoria Chiefs' holiday light show and country singer Jon Pardi's concert.

The Peoria police chief, Brad Dixon, said: "Nationally, when a bomb threat comes in, typically, it’s not legitimate and they’re doing it to cause an evacuation of a building or something like that. This is not the case here. We found a credible package that we deem to be a threat."

Peoria, a city of around 110,000 residents, is located in central Illinois. The BioUrja Renewables site is a major chemical manufacturing facility located on an industrial riverside complex.

The bomb threat came as all US flights were stopped by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday. The ground stop has since been lifted, but massive travel disruptions are continuing.

All departing domestic flights were stopped for roughly four to five hours. It impacted major airline, including Delta, United, American, and Southwest.

According to aviation experts, this was the longest and most severe nationwide flight shutdown since 9/11.

Data shows that over 15,000 flights were delayed or cancelled on Friday.

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