FBI thwarts mass shooting planned for Washington state mall, authorities say

The FBI thwarted a potential mass shooting by a teenager who planned to set off an explosive at a shopping mall in Washington state and shoot people as they fled the movie theater there, law enforcement leaders said Thursday.

A juvenile from Columbia County was taken into custody May 22 on state charges, according to the FBI. Authorities didn’t release the suspect’s name.

The shooting was planned for the Three Rivers Crossing in Kelso, Washington, authorities said. The mall is about 50 miles north of Portland off Interstate 5, and has a mix of national retailers including JCPenney, Target and Safeway and local businesses, according to its website.

The teen had a map of the mall, a route to follow and a plan to use a chlorine bomb as a distraction to cause panic and then shoot people as they left the movie theater before committing suicide at the mall, the FBI said in a statement.

“An alarming amount of indicators of a cogent path to violence were met — at no point in this plan did it seem like the suspect wouldn’t follow through with their plans,” the FBI said.

The FBI received a tip of “detailed and imminent attack plans” on May 19, identified the suspect the next day, saying he “shared nihilistic violent extremist ideology and the plans on online chats.”

Authorities started monitoring the teen and served a search warrant on the day of the arrest, the FBI said.

“This plot is as serious as it gets,” said FBI Portland Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Olson.

FBI agents worked with Columbia County officers to stop the alleged plot.

Olson, Columbia County District Attorney Joshua Pond and Columbia County Sheriff Brian Pixley are holding a 1 p.m. news conference at FBI headquarters in Portland to discuss the case.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X

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