A 15-year-old in Oregon was charged with domestic terrorism and attempted murder on Friday after he released hazardous chemicals inside a Portland high school last month, prompting an evacuation, officials said.
The teenager brought several toxic chemicals to Benson Polytechnic High School in northeast Portland in September, mixed the substances and inhaled their fumes in the school’s cafeteria, officials from the Portland Police Bureau said during a news conference on Friday. He was transported in critical condition to a hospital, where he received lifesaving care, they said.
The boy is currently in an inpatient mental health facility, said Noah Horst, one of his lawyers. He is receiving “appropriate and necessary” treatment, his lawyers said in a statement. The boy appeared in court on Friday, and his lawyers denied his allegations.
Nathan Vasquez, the district attorney of Multnomah County, filed 19 charges against the boy in juvenile court on Friday, including 12 counts of attempted murder and first- and second-degree domestic terrorism charges, the authorities said.
Mr. Vasquez is seeking to move the case into adult court, he said.
“The threat of violence in school — it doesn’t just stay in the building,” Mr. Vasquez said during the news conference. “It follows families home. It sits at the dinner table with them.”
A domestic terrorism charge is “not typical” in many cases, Mr. Vasquez said. But under a state law passed in 2023, intentionally releasing a toxic substance into “widespread contact” with others is considered an act of domestic terrorism.
“Thankfully, this is not something we deal with every day,” Mr. Vasquez added.
On Sept. 8, the authorities arrived at Benson Polytechnic around 8:30 a.m., responding to a medical emergency the teenager was experiencing after ingesting gases from the chemicals, officials said. He was taken to a hospital, and the school was evacuated.
Over 100 students and faculty members were examined, and at least seven required medical attention, said Franz Schoening, assistant chief of investigations at the Portland Police Bureau.
The police initially believed the mixture of chemicals contained hydrogen sulfide, but the exact substances have not been officially identified, said Sgt. Jim DeFrain of the Portland Police. They are under testing at an F.B.I. lab, he added.
Before releasing the chemicals, the boy had exhibited “concerning behavior” and made statements that indicated an interest in “hazardous chemicals, explosives and violence,” Mike Benner, a spokesman for the police bureau, said during the news conference.
The charges against the teenager also include unlawful manufacturing and possession of a destructive device, possession of a weapon in a public building, unlawful use of a weapon, and reckless endangerment of another person.
The episode on Sept. 8 had a “huge impact” on the school’s students and their families, some of whom have refused to return to Benson Polytechnic, Mr. Vasquez said.
“This has been a very traumatic event,” he said.
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