2 facing charges after online messages allegedly involved plans for school shooting

A Shelby County woman is one of two people facing charges after federal law enforcement say she admitted to exchanging online messages involving plans to commit a violent attack at a school.

According to an affidavit, Katherine Joiner from Wilsonville, Alabama and Ethan Bassett from Glen, Mississippi face charges of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce with the affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Mississippi.

The FBI in Birmingham reportedly became aware of concerning Instagram messages between two users on May 18, 2026. Agents sent an emergency disclosure request to Meta, Inc., the parent company of Instagram.

According to the affidavit, Joiner posted media on an Instagram account with the user “kissmyxm15,” from February through May 2026 referencing the true crime community and celebrating real-world violent crimes.

The posts included references to the Columbine High School shooting, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and its perpetrator, as well as the Isla Vista shooting.

The affidavit says they confirmed that Joiner was the person behind the “kissmyxm15,” account. Joiner and Bassett, who was operating an account under the user “ethanb.bps,” began exchanging messages.

Read more: WBRC