Hours after FBI questioning, student confesses to releasing toxic gas in dorm, prompting evacuations.

An FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force questioned a Utah State University student, who later contaminated his dorm with hydrochloric acid gas, prompting mass evacuations, just hours after the questioning.

An indictment alleges that Joshua Peter Jager, 20, was arrested Thursday night and charged with recklessly causing a catastrophe and disorderly conduct.

Just before 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, the first floor of Mountain View Tower was discovered to be covered in a vaporous substance, which was later identified as hydrochloric acid gas, following a fire alarm.

According to court documents, a "mass evacuation" of every person living in the dormitory occurred after the alarm, which involved EMS, Logan Fire Department, Logan HAZMAT, and USU Police.

On Monday, a fire alarm was triggered in Jager's room at Mountain View Tower dorm, prompting USU Police officers to respond, as stated in court documents.

Authorities discovered a cache of chemicals, machinery, tools, and batteries in his possession, despite his claim that he was boiling water and vinegar to cook potatoes.

According to the affidavit, police suspected that there might have been "drug or explosive making" at the scene, so they called bomb technicians to investigate. The technicians confiscated the chemicals and deemed the room safe. Jager was then instructed to remove all chemicals and cease cooking in his dorm.

According to court documents, Jager was questioned by the USU Police Department at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday about the reason for the chemicals in his room. He stated that he had possessed the chemicals for years and did not use them to create an explosive or drug.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force joined the interview and questioned him about any ties to terrorist organizations, which he denied. He admitted to making a "mistake" by bringing the chemicals into the dorm.

According to court documents, he was wanted by the FBI and a certified peace officer to stop using chemicals and if he discovered any other chemicals in his dorm, he was required to contact the police for proper disposal.

Six hours after the FBI questioning, Jager confessed to triggering the alarm and discovered additional chemicals he was trying to "neutralize" during the mass evacuation.

According to a court order, Jagger was granted $2,500 bail by Cache County District Court Judge Angela Fonnesbeck on Friday morning.

According to the affidavit, those who were forced to vacate the dorm had to walk through the gas, resulting in a "contamination issue."

According to court documents, an initial estimate of clean up and restoration was between $10,000 and $20,000. However, labor and overtime costs will significantly increase the expense.

The university stated on Friday that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed.

""USU Housing arranged for student residents to wait in other USU buildings or on an Aggie Shuttle bus until midnight to determine if decontamination was necessary or to be allowed back into their room, with no other students needing to be decontaminated," according to the statement."

The CARE Office is available to assist Mountain View Tower residents with academic problems resulting from the evacuation, as announced by Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Krystin Deschamps in a message to residents.