Authorities return to the terrorist’s home in New Orleans
FBI Houston and local authorities have returned to the home of Shamsud-Din Jabbar as their investigation into the deadly New Year’s Eve attack in New Orleans continues. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
A Utah State University student was arrested after authorities said he contaminated his dorm with muriatic acid gas, forcing mass evacuations just hours after he was questioned by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Joshua Peter Jager, 20, was arrested Thursday evening and is charged with cause a catastrophe reckless and disorderly conduct, according to a criminal complaint.
USU authorities responded to a fire alarm at the Mountain View Tower just before 7:45 p.m. Thursday and found the entire first floor covered in a vaporous substance, later revealed to be hydrochloric acid gas, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed with the 1st District Court.
Utah State University (Utah State University)
The alarm caused a “mass evacuation” of each person living in the dormitory and involving paramedics, Logan Fire Department, Logan HAZMAT and USU Police, according to court documents.
Days earlier, USU police officers responded to Jager’s Mountain View Tower dormitory on Monday after a fire alarm went off in his room, court documents show.
He allegedly told authorities he was boiling water and vinegar to make potatoes, but they later found a large cache of chemicals – including silver nitrate and potassium carbonate – along with machinery, tools and many batteries.
Police suspected there may have been drug or explosives manufacturing involved and called bomb technicians to the scene, where they seized the chemicals, the affidavit said. The room was later deemed safe and Jager was told to remove all chemicals and stop cooking in his dorm.
According to court documents, Jager was taken to USU police at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and questioned about the reason for the chemicals in his room. He claimed he had had the chemicals in his possession for years and had not used them to make an explosive or drug.
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force participated in the interview and questioned him about “any ties he has to terrorist organizations,” which he denied, according to the affidavit. He claimed he made a “mistake” by bringing the chemicals into the dormitory.
He was then wanted by the FBI and a certified peace officer to stop using chemicals and if he finds other chemicals in his dorm, to contact police so they can be properly disposed of, according to court documents.
During the mass evacuation, which took place just six hours after the FBI interrogation, Jager admitted to setting off the alarm and said he found more chemicals that he was trying to “neutralize.”
Cache County District Court Judge Angela Fonnesbeck granted Jagger $2,500 bail Friday morning, according to a court order.
Anyone forced to leave the dormitory had to walk through the gas, which caused a “contamination problem,” according to the affidavit.
FBI agent in a jacket with the agency’s insignia. (iStock)
According to court documents, the initial estimate for the cleanup and restoration was approximately $10,000 to $20,000. Labor and overtime costs will “significantly” increase costs.
In a statement released Friday, the university said the investigation is ongoing and “other charges” could be added.
“USU Housing found spaces in other USU buildings and on an Aggie Shuttle bus to keep student residents out of the elements while they waited to determine if decontamination was necessary or to be allowed back into their rooms around midnight,” the statement said . “No other students needed to be decontaminated.”
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Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Krystin Deschamps sent a message to Mountain View Tower residents saying the CARE Office is available to assist with academic issues caused by the evacuation.
