Social media companies say they are co-operating in Tumbler Ridge murder probe

In the months before February’s deadly Tumbler Ridge mass shootings, Jesse Van Rootselaar was fixated on making sure the carnage would be streamed to the world.

Van Rootselaar repeatedly asked her friend and alleged accomplice James (Melodie) Bryant to ensure the murders were recorded and broadcast using either the social media platform Twitch or even Discord, the app the two had used to communicate frequently.

Last Christmas, Van Rootselaar, who shot herself after killing six children and two adults on Feb. 10, even wondered if she would have “fans” afterwards.

“I think you definitely would,” Bryant responded before Van Rootselaar suggested the fans would be subjected to anger “for romanticizing me.”

“I am quite hazardous,” she joked.

New insight into Van Rootselaar’s obsession with fame are contained in dozens of messages between the two laid out in a U.S. criminal complaint against Bryant, who was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.

The Bellingham transgender woman, 30, is now in jail awaiting a bail hearing scheduled for next week in Seattle.

Bryant promised Van Rootselaar, who was also a trans female, that she would never “snitch” despite expressing concerns about Van Rootselaar’s plan for mass murder.

The two discussed and tested the livestream several times during six months of planning, the U.S. court documents said.

A 20-second livestream port was broadcast on the day of the murders, before the connection failed. But the only person who viewed it was Bryant.

Both Discord and Twitch issued statements Wednesday that they are co-operating fully with the police investigation.

Discord spokesperson Michelle Kramer said in an emailed statement that the San Francisco-based company “strongly condemns violence and we have a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who supports, promotes, or engages in violent acts.”

“We share in the Tumbler Ridge community’s grief and extend our condolences to the families and to everyone impacted by this tragedy,” she said. “Following our investigation, we proactively disclosed relevant information to law enforcement agencies and removed the suspect’s account for violating our policies. We will continue to work in close co-ordination with authorities as the investigation continues.”

Within hours of the murders, Discord staff had identified an account “that we believed was associated with the shooter. During our investigation we also discovered private direct (one-on-one) messages.”

She said all chats about the shooting were in private direct messages.

“No communication about the shooting took place through a public Discord server or through group direct messages. We can also confirm we did not receive any user reports related to this event,” Kramer said.