Font ResizeChristopher Janney, 16, of South Fayette, was charged as an adult with attempted homicide for leaving what police described as six "chlorine compression bombs" near the family members. The bottles did not explode and no one was injured.
Janney had also been using a peppermill to grind up rat poison, according to a criminal complaint.
The one-page complaint spelled out some details of what family members told police, but did not explain Janney's purported motive or whether he tried to use the rat poison on his family. In the complaint, police described the bombs as clear bottles with white powder that smelled of chlorine, but didn't explain specifically how they were assembled or what else they contained.
"It's an open investigation. We don't want to jeopardize what we're doing," South Fayette police Chief Louis Volle said Tuesday in declining to answer questions about the case. "We've got a lot of unanswered questions."
Janney's mother, Bonnie, told WPXI-TV that her son "has mental problems," but that she did not think he would do anything to hurt her. A person who answered the phone at the family's home told The Associated Press no one would comment.
Family members told investigators they had found the teen with bottles of rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol can be combined with chlorine
Sgt. Al Wessel of Allegheny County's bomb squad told KDKA-TV that he did not believe such devices would kill, but said they could cause serious burns and possible blindness.
At Janney's home about 10 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, police recovered a computer and cell phone and retrieved text messages and e-mail in which he discussed the plan with others, according to the complaint. They also recovered a chemical gas mask.
Janney e-mailed and texted at least one other person asking how to mix chemicals and wrote, "I went through with my plan," the complaint said.
Janney and an accomplice planned leave town afterward by bus, the complaint said. Another person told police he picked up Janney on Saturday morning and took him to a nearby gas station. Janney was arrested Sunday, but Volle wouldn't say where or how.
Bonnie Janney told police that she left her son sleeping on the living room couch about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, but that he was gone when she checked on him at 3 a.m.
Christopher Janney got into a scuffle with a grandfather who lives next door, apparently sometime later Saturday morning, in which his grandfather took away a sack containing bottles of rubbing alcohol, according to the complaint. The teen was last seen running from his grandfather's house, but the complaint doesn't say when that was.
Janney's mother called police at 6:45 a.m. to report her son missing.
Janney is charged with five counts of attempted homicide and one count each of reckless endangerment and criminal conspiracy.
Janney remained jailed Tuesday afternoon and it wasn't clear if he had an attorney. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday in Pittsburgh at which he could either present a defense attorney or have one assigned to him by a judge.
Linda Hippert, superintendent of South Fayette School District, said Janney is a junior and on the soccer team.
"Just what I would call your regular everyday student, and by that I mean not a student who was in trouble," she said. "We were very shocked and surprised by what has been reported."
