A Third Teen Arrested in Chemical Bomb Case

(Memphis) While some are calling it a senior prank, a homemade drano bomb caused chaos Thursday at Craigmont High School.

Three teenagers are in jail charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

While police don’t believe the teenagers acted maliciously, the three high school seniors now face prison time.

“I don`t think it was intended to cause bodily harm or death to anyone,” said Tony Armstrong, the police director for the Memphis Police Department.

Teen Counselor Eric Cassius says teens are often refered to him through the juvenile justice system and that their records often get expunged with good behavior. But since Tarif Johnson, Leviticus Lacy and Shaquille Watson are all 18 years old, they’ll likely have a permanent record, if convicted.

Cassius says it’s a tough lesson to learn for teenagers going through a time that is often marked by impuslive behavior.

“Typically with kids, this impulsive behavior is ‘I do something because it sounds great in the moment’,” he said.  “‘It sounds like fun. It sounds enjoyable. Let’s take the car.  Let`s set the bomb. Let’s throw the firecrackers at each other.”

“With that said, they still have to be held responsible for their actions,” said Armstrong.

Police say Lacy and Watson were caught on tape mixing the components of the homemade bombs that exploded on two floors of Craigmont High School.

Police say no one was hurt but classes for hundreds of students got disrupted and the assistant principal had to be taken to the hospital after inhaling fumes.

We’re told the assistant principal is doing ok but did take the day off Friday to fully recover.

The teens are being held in jail on a 300-thousand bond and they’re next court date is set for May 11.