A 15-year-old Portland student now faces 19 criminal counts—including domestic terrorism and attempted murder—after mixing chemicals in his high school cafeteria and releasing toxic gas that put one person in critical condition and sent at least seven others for medical treatment. The real scandal: authorities admit there were warning signs beforehand, and nobody stopped him.
On September 8, the Benson Polytechnic High School student brought chemicals from home and combined them inside the building shortly before 8:30 a.m., when the cafeteria was crowded with students and staff. Initial testing identified the gas as hydrogen sulfide, confirmed by an Oregon National Guard team. More than 100 students and staff were assessed after evacuating. The teenager himself ended up in critical condition—surviving only because school staff and a nurse rushed to treat him before first responders arrived.
The same kid staff scrambled to save is now charged with 10 counts of attempted aggravated murder, one count each of attempted first- and second-degree murder, two counts of domestic terrorism, manufacturing a destructive device, and several other weapons and endangerment counts.
Here is where the institutional failure comes into focus. Portland Police Bureau Public Information Manager Mike Benner said investigators uncovered
