Pekin City Hall evacuated when pipe bomb found, detonated

PEKIN, Ill. (AP) - Discovery of an apparent pipe bomb prompted the evacuation of the building that houses Pekin's City Hall and police department.

The Pekin Daily Times reports that police say the apparent bomb was found in a safe that was in the vehicle of a man who was arrested during a Wednesday night traffic stop. Police obtained a warrant to open the safe and when they did at about 10:15 a.m. Thursday they found the bomb.

The building was immediately evacuated. The Peoria Police Department's Bomb Squad detonated the device in the parking lot. Employees were allowed back in the building about 10 minutes later. There were no injuries.

The man who had the safe hasn't been identified. Police say he was booked into jail on a charge of possessing methamphetamine and was being questioned by investigators.

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Information from: Pekin Daily Times, http://www.pekintimes.com