FBI Investigation Leads to Arrest
A 21-year-old woman from Alabama has been ordered to remain in custody without bail after the FBI uncovered a suspected mass school shooting plot through Instagram messages. Katherine Grace Joiner, of Wilsonville, Shelby County, is charged alongside 19-year-old Ethan Chance Bassett of Glen, Mississippi. Authorities allege the pair coordinated plans to attack a school and then take their own lives.
Federal Magistrate Judge John H. England III ruled on June 20, 2026, that there was probable cause to support a charge of transmitting threatening communications across state lines. He denied bail, stating, "The Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community."
Instagram Messages Trigger FBI Action
The plot unraveled on May 18, 2026, when the FBI flagged a series of Instagram messages and sent an emergency disclosure request to Meta to access the accounts. According to court records cited by WSFA, the messages referenced violence, access to guns, glorification of school shooters, and plans for a mass attack. Joiner's account, under the username "kissmyxm15", allegedly showed a fixation on infamous mass killings, including those at Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Isla Vista, with content shared between February and May 2026.
In a message dated May 12, 2026, Joiner allegedly wrote, according to AL.com: "I haven't really made a plan but killing people and then myself has been on my mind for a while I wouldn't mind doing it with you."
Home Visit and Evidence
FBI agents visited Joiner's home on the same day the messages were flagged. She admitted to sending the messages and discussing violence at a school with Bassett. Bassett was arrested in Mississippi and reportedly remarked, "It was probably for the best," adding it was "because of things he had said on Instagram," according to court papers cited by WSFA.
Joiner was taken to Baptist Health Shelby Hospital for treatment and was formally arrested by the FBI on May 28 after her release. Prosecutors presented photographs from her bedroom showing bloody decals and gore stickers, including "bloody footprints and skulls," as well as a "bloody axe and pliers." Agents also photographed a rifle in the basement that she had discussed accessing.
Online Group and Mental Health
Joiner told investigators she was part of an online "TCC" or "True Crime Committee" group across Instagram, TikTok, Discord, and PlayStation chats. She described mental health struggles and allegedly said she "did not view people as people," but as "faces." Prosecutors said she spoke of a plan to sneak out, take weapons, meet Bassett, shoot people inside a school, and then kill herself.
Bassett remains in pretrial detention in Mississippi.
