BURST
One person has been arrested in connection with the deadly Tumbler Ridge shooting that unfolded earlier this year.
In a brief statement issued Tuesday, acting U.S. attorney Neil Floyd with the U.S Department of Justice announced that a 30-year-old Washington State resident had been arrested on a charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.
More details are expected at a news conference being held at noon on Tuesday in Seattle. Postmedia will update this story.
In February 2026, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar shot and killed her mother and half-brother at home before making her way to Tumbler Ridge Secondary. There, she entered the school and opened fire, killing four students an educational assistant before turning the gun on herself.
The victims include Emmett Jacobs, 11, and Jennifer Jacobs, 39, who were killed inside Van Rootselaar’s home, and Ezekiel Schofield, age 13, Abel Mwansa, Kylie Smith, Zoey Benoit, Ticaria Lampert, all 12, and Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39, who were killed inside the school.
The shooting turned international attention onto the small community, which is tucked away in northeastern B.C., and has spawned two separate lawsuits against OpenAI. It’s alleged Van Rootselaar used the artificial intelligence platform to research firearms and plan logistics about how to stage a school shooting.
One lawsuit was filed this fall by the B.C. government , with the goal of securing stronger regulations on AI after the company shared that it had spotted red flags about Van Rootselaar’s online activity but did not flag it for police leading it up to the Feb. 10 shooting.
Earlier in the spring, Tumbler Ridge community members and family members of the victims also filed a lawsuit in California court against OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman for negligence and failing to take action that could have prevented the shooting.
More to come.