A chemical emergency at an Oregon high school that left a student critically ill has now become a domestic terrorism and attempted murder case involving the teenager school employees tried to rescue.
The 15-year-old student at Benson Polytechnic High School is facing 19 criminal charges after authorities said he brought chemicals from home and combined them inside the Portland campus on Sept. 8, producing toxic gases that put students and staff at risk.
“Safety in our schools is not something that can be negotiated,” Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said at a news conference Oct. 2.
“That violence or the threat of violence in a school… it doesn’t just stay in that building. It follows families home. It sits at the dinner table with them.”
Portland Police Bureau Public Information Manager Mike Benner said investigators found “concerning behaviors and statements” predating the incident, including the teenager’s reported interest in hazardous chemicals, explosives and violence.
Because he is a minor, the teenager has not been publicly identified. He faces 10 counts of attempted aggravated murder, along with one count each of attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree domestic terrorism and second-degree domestic terrorism.
The remaining allegations include unlawfully manufacturing and possessing a destructive device, possessing a weapon in a public building, unlawful use of a weapon and recklessly endangering another person.
His attorneys have denied the allegations and said he is undergoing treatment at an inpatient mental health facility, according to The New York Times.
Vasquez said prosecutors intend to seek a transfer of the case from juvenile court to adult court, citing the need to protect students and school employees.
“And I want to be clear, they’re teenagers, but these are children, and they deserve a safe environment,” he said.
The district attorney also condemned what he described as a wider weakness in Oregon’s juvenile justice system, which ends supervision when a person turns 25—even if officials believe that individual remains a threat to the public.
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“I think that that is wrong,” Vasquez said, arguing that the law does not adequately address the potential danger posed by someone convicted of multiple killings or domestic terrorism.
“I’m looking at conduct and how dangerous that is and what I consider to be safe for the community going forward,” he said.
The incident began shortly before 8:30 a.m., when large numbers of students and staff were in the vicinity of the teenager, Assistant Chief of Investigations Franz Schoening said.
Teachers and administrators quickly moved students away while the school nurse treated the teenager before emergency crews arrived. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition but survived.
“Those first few moments were critical in preventing further harm and lives being lost,” Schoening said.
More than 100 students and staff members were evaluated after leaving the building, and at least seven people needed medical treatment, he said.
Sgt. Jim DeFrain, who oversees the investigation and the Metropolitan Explosive Disposal Unit, said preliminary testing detected hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas.
An Oregon National Guard team reached the same conclusion. Investigators sent samples to an FBI laboratory for additional analysis, but the results were still pending when officials held the briefing, DeFrain said.
The FBI was also analyzing electronic devices and other equipment seized during searches.
Vasquez said the investigation remained open and that anyone else found to have criminal involvement could face charges.
“If we determine or find any links, if there are people that can be charged, this office will charge them,” he said.