US Charges Suspect in Connection with Tumbler Ridge School Shooting

Law enforcement in the northwestern United States has charged a suspect in connection with a shooting at a Canadian school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged 30-year-old James Cody Bryant, a resident of Washington state, with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. Bryant allegedly provided money and technical advice to the attacker in conversations over the internet, starting six months before the February 10 attack. The shooting resulted in six fatalities, including five students, and 27 other victims were injured. The attacker, 18-year-old transgender woman Jesse Van Rootselaar, shot and killed her mother and half-brother at their home before traveling to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and opening fire. Van Rootselaar, a former student at the school, died by suicide at the end of the attack. US prosecutors allege that Bryant and Van Rootselaar communicated through the social media service Discord and discussed how to carry out the mass shooting, including plans to maximize notoriety and livestream the event through Twitch. Bryant also allegedly provided funds for items needed for the attack and gave instructions on how to reach the school. In September, the British Columbia government filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in California, claiming that its ChatGPT platform played a role in the shooting. The lawsuit alleges that Van Rootselaar had been flagged by OpenAI’s safety team for statements about gun violence, but law enforcement was not notified. The British Columbia government is seeking financial compensation for emergency response and community recovery efforts and is asking the court to mandate reforms in how OpenAI handles users who threaten violence. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed regret for the company's failure to alert law enforcement and stated that steps would be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI has not implemented the promised policy changes and that the company is facing over 30 other lawsuits related to the Tumbler Ridge attack.