Update: 14-year-old appears in court on Skyview chemical incident

A 14-year-old boy appeared Friday in Clark County Juvenile Court on accusations he mixed a toxic cocktail of chemicals and exposed other students Thursday at Skyview High School.

The boy, a freshman at the school, will be arraigned Wednesday on possible charges of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. Court Commissioner Terry Vetter found probable cause Friday for the boy to be held in the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center.

Nine people, including two adults and seven teenagers, were sent to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center Thursday for respiratory distress and were discharged the same day.

The boy also was charged Friday with dealing marijuana in a separate Dec. 10 case.

Attorney Karen Peterson was appointed to defend the boy.

He is accused of mixing bleach and ammonia in a container and bringing it to the high school. He allegedly asked two students in a second-period class to inhale the concoction, according to court documents. One of the students pushed the container away, causing it to spill on a third student, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The spill caused others to be exposed to the noxious fumes.

A hazardous materials crew from the Vancouver Fire Department was called to the school at about 9:15 a.m. Thursday. Clark County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident and arrested the boy.

Vancouver Public Schools officials Thursday ordered an emergency expulsion of the boy, said Tom Hagley, the school district’s executive director of community and government relations.

The school wing where the classroom is located was evacuated, but school remained in session, according to school officials.

Bleach mixed with ammonia produces toxic gases, which can cause eye, skin and respiratory irritation. It also can, in some cases, eat away mucous lining in the lungs.

In the separate drug case, the boy is accused of delivery of a controlled substance. Court documents indicate that the boy confessed to selling marijuana to another boy.