US Suspect Arrested Over Conspiracy in Deadly Canadian School Shooting Planned via ChatGPT

United States federal authorities have arrested 30-year-old Washington state resident James Codey Bryant as an alleged co-conspirator in a horrific Canadian mass school shooting. The US Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Bryant faces charges of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. Prosecutors allege Bryant provided financial support, technical guidance, and operational assistance to 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar in the months leading up to the February massacre that claimed eight lives.

According to an indictment detailed in a joint briefing by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI, Bryant communicated with Van Rootselaar for six months leading to the attack after meeting years earlier on Omegle. Officials said Bryant sent funds for supplies, advised her to use a VPN, and agreed to livestream the event. Crucially, authorities noted that when Van Rootselaar could not start her car after killing her mother and half-brother, Bryant gave instructions on how to turn on the engine, enabling her to reach the school where six children were killed.

The shooting previously drew global scrutiny because Van Rootselaar had used OpenAI's ChatGPT to help plot the assault. Although OpenAI's internal safety team flagged her account for inquiries regarding gun violence and shut it down, they did not alert law enforcement, allowing her to open a second unmonitored profile. Both the victims' families and the government of British Columbia have since filed lawsuits against OpenAI and chief executive Sam Altman for failing to report the imminent threat.

Bryant, who is being prosecuted in the US as an American citizen, will face federal proceedings while the FBI coordinates closely with Canadian investigators. Despite occasionally attempting to dissuade the shooter, Bryant never alerted authorities. Law enforcement officials emphasized that cross-border digital investigations remain ongoing to uncover any further digital networks linked to the deadly attack.