Kylie May Smith, a talented and gentle 12-year-old girl, was described by her family as the light of their lives. Born on May 7, 2013, Kylie was a student at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia. From the time she was a toddler, she was set on becoming an artist and dreamed of one day attending art school in Toronto. Her mother, Desirae Pisarski, remembered her as having the biggest heart, a loving and caring girl who "couldn't hurt a fly."
Her father, Lance Younge, called her a "beautiful soul" who was thriving in high school. Kylie loved anime, figure skating, and her family, including her older brother, Ethan, with whom she was extremely close. Her aunt, Shanon Dycke, recalled her as a beautiful girl, inside and out, who was a kind and sweet soul.
The last time Kylie’s father saw her alive was the morning of Tuesday, February 10, 2026, as he watched her and Ethan walk into school together. That afternoon, around 2:20 p.m., an 18-year-old former student named Jesse Van Rootselaar entered Tumbler Ridge Secondary School armed with a long gun and a modified rifle. The school went into lockdown as the shooter opened fire. Students barricaded doors with tables while a teacher, after seeing bullet holes in the glass, ushered his students into an equipment room for safety. Kylie was in the school library, where the shooter killed her and four other people. In total, Van Rootselaar killed five students and one education assistant at the school and injured 27 others before dying by a self-inflicted gunshot as police arrived. The other victims at the school were students Abel Mwansa, 12; Ezekiel Schofield, 13; Zoey Benoit, 12; Ticaria Lampert, 12; and education assistant Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39.
The investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) revealed that before attacking the school, Van Rootselaar had shot and killed her mother, Jennifer Jacobs, and 11-year-old half-brother, Emmett Jacobs, at their home on Fellers Avenue. The attack was the deadliest mass shooting in Canada since 2020. Police determined the victims at the school were chosen at random. Investigators found that Van Rootselaar had stolen guns from a family safe and had been stockpiling weapons for months. She had a history of mental health-related calls to police, and firearms had previously been seized from her home but were later returned to their lawful owner.
In the months following the tragedy, the investigation led to an arrest in the United States. In October 2026, James Cody Bryant, a 30-year-old from Washington state, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. According to the criminal complaint, Bryant and Van Rootselaar met online and communicated for months, with Bryant allegedly providing advice, attempting to help livestream the attack, and sending money for an explosive device. Bryant pleaded not guilty in a Seattle court, and a trial was scheduled for December 2026. The victims' families also filed more than thirty lawsuits against the company OpenAI, alleging the shooting could have been prevented after Van Rootselaar's account on its ChatGPT platform was banned for making violent queries.
In the small, tight-knit community of Tumbler Ridge, the grief was immense. Makeshift memorials with flowers, photos, and candles appeared. Kylie’s family planned a celebration of life for February 21, 2026, inviting the community to share memories and laughter to honor her gentle and warm spirit. Tragically, the family was forced to cancel the service after receiving death threats, an experience shared by at least two other victims' families. The family was moved to a safe location while the RCMP investigated the threats.
In October 2026, Kylie’s mother and aunt launched the Kylie Smith Art Foundation to honor her memory and her passion. The foundation aims to provide a grant to a graduating student from Northern British Columbia who is pursuing a career or post-secondary education in the arts. Her family hopes the foundation will help other young artists achieve the dreams that Kylie was not able to realize. Her father urged the public to remember the victims and the heroes of that day, not the person who caused so much pain. The investigation into the shooting and the court case against the alleged co-conspirator were ongoing as of October 2026.
