An Oregon high school cafeteria chemical scare that left a student in critical condition has escalated into a domestic terrorism and attempted murder case against the same teenager school staff rushed to save.The 15-year-old Benson Polytechnic High School student faces 19 criminal counts after authorities said he brought chemicals from home and mixed them inside the Portland school Sept.8, releasing toxic gases that endangered students and staff."Safety in our schools is not something that can be negotiated," Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said during an Oct.
2 news conference."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."THREE SCHOOL SAFETY STEPS EVERY PARENT SHOULD KNOW BEFORE CLASSES BEGINBenson Polytechnic High School in Portland, Oregon, where authorities said a student mixed hazardous chemicals in the cafeteria Sept.8, 2026.
(Google Maps)Investigators uncovered "concerning behaviors and statements" before the incident, including an interest in hazardous chemicals, explosives and violence, Portland Police Bureau Public Information Manager Mike Benner said.MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY STASHING HOMEMADE GUNS FOR ROBBERY PLOT: SHERIFFPortland authorities discuss attempted murder and domestic terrorism charges against a 15-year-old Benson Polytechnic High School student during an Oct.2, 2026, news conference.
(Portland Police)The teenager, whose name has not been released because of his age, faces 10 counts of attempted aggravated murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, one count of attempted second-degree murder, one count of first-degree domestic terrorism and one count of second-degree domestic terrorism.Additional charges include unlawfully manufacturing and possessing a destructive device, possessing a weapon in a public building, unlawfully using a weapon and recklessly endangering another person...