LOGAN, Utah — A student arrested in connection to a late night evacuation of a Utah State University dormitory on Thursday had previously been questioned by campus police earlier in the day after a large amount of chemicals were found inside his room during the week.
Emergency crews were called to the Mountain View Tower dormitory on the Logan campus at approximately 8 p.m. and immediately evacuated students from the building. Messages originally sent through the school's alert system claimed there had been a chemical spill on the first floor.
Officers investigating the alarm found the first floor covered in fog or a vaporous substance which was found to be hydrochloric acid in a gas form.
Raw video below shows hectic response after evacuation of Utah State dormitory:
During the incident, students were brought to other campus buildings, as well as a shuttle bus to keep them away from any danger before the all-clear was given and they were allowed back inside the dorm around midnight, although not all returned immediately.
"They said it was safe to go back, but I didn’t trust it, so I wanted time for the gas to settle, not be exposed to it," said dorm resident Spencer D'Abronzo.
Joshua Peter Jager was arrested and faces charges of causing a catastrophe and disorderly conduct.
According to the arrest documents, Jager was questioned by the university police on Thursday morning, three days after officers had responded to the same dormitory because of a fire alarm on Monday.
During the Monday response, Jager claimed to have been boiling water and vinegar inside his dormitory room to make potatoes. However, once inside Jager's room, officers and fire crews discovered numerous chemicals, including silver nitrate and potassium carbonate. Officers also found various machinery and large quantities of batteries.
Bomb technicians were called in and confiscated various chemicals and Jager, who denied any bomb or drug-making, was told to remove the remaining chemicals and abstain from cooking inside the dorm room.
On Thursday morning, after being brought to the Utah State University Police Department for additional questioning, Jager said he had received the chemicals "years before" and once again said there was no intent to make bombs or drugs. He also denied any ties to terror organizations when asked by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Jager said he had made a mistake by having the chemicals in his dormitory room and was warned by the FBI to cease what was happening in the room.
However, during the Thursday evening incident, hours after being questioned at the police department, Jager admitted to setting off the new alarm, claiming he had found more chemicals and was attempting to "neutralize" them.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, with the school saying that additional charges could be filed against Jager.
For many students, the unsettling experience has them saying if they never hear another fire alarm it'll be too soon.
"I am hopeful that this semester it calms down after this," said student Geneil Richins. "And whoever has been messing around realizes that this is college and he’s an adult, and actions have consequences."
