OMM Redaksiyası
US authorities have arrested a 30-year-old American man in connection with a deadly school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, earlier this year, according to Agence France-Presse.
Prosecutors with the US Department of Justice said the man was charged in Washington state with conspiracy to murder people in a foreign country. They said further details would be provided at a joint news conference with Canadian authorities on Monday afternoon.
Eight people, including six children, were killed in the February attack, one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history. Authorities said it was carried out by 18-year-old Jessie Van Rootselaar, who lived in the town.
The shooting took place at Van Rootselaar’s home and at a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, a community of about 2,300 people. Van Rootselaar died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during the attack.
Van Rootselaar’s mother and 11-year-old stepbrother were among those killed, along with five children and an educator at the school. Police said Van Rootselaar had previously been known to law enforcement following mental health-related visits to the home over several years.
US authorities have not identified the arrested man.
Several lawsuits have been filed in connection with the attack. After it emerged that Van Rootselaar had consulted “ChatGPT” before the shooting, British Columbia and some victims’ families sued “OpenAI”, alleging the company failed to alert authorities about the interactions.
In April, “OpenAI” chief executive Sam Altman apologised to the victims’ families. “I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement,” he wrote in an open letter.
