Washington resident conspired with Canadian school shooter before
attack, officials say
[October 07, 2026]
By MARTHA BELLISLE
SEATTLE (AP) — Federal authorities said Tuesday that they have arrested
and charged a 30-year-old from Washington state with encouraging an
18-year-old to commit one of the worst school shootings in Canada's
history by offering to livestream the February attack, providing money
and sharing advice on how to delete online messages to keep the plot a
secret.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle said James Cody Bryant of
Bellingham, Washington, communicated with Jesse Van Rootselaar in
British Columbia for at least six months ahead of the shooting. Bryant,
who identifies as female, did not report Van Rootselaar's plans to
authorities, authorities allege.
W. Mike Herrington, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle
office, said without Bryant's “misplaced loyalty" and willingness to
livestream the killings, officials didn't know if Van Rootselaar would
have gone through with the attack.
“We certainly know the shooter was concerned that not enough people
would see the livestream without Bryant broadcasting it and was
depending on Bryant to amplify the livestream because the shooter did
not have many followers on social media," Herrington added.
Authorities say Van Rootselaar first killed her mother and stepbrother
at home before attacking a nearby school in the mountain community of
Tumbler Ridge, killing five children ages 12 and 13 at the school as
well as an educational assistant. Twenty-five others were wounded.
Van Rootselaar was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted
gunshot wound.
Investigators accessed Van Rootselaar's Twitch account and found that
she had initiated a video livestream while sitting in her vehicle with a
rifle and long gun in her lap. The livestream lasted about 20 seconds
before it was disconnected, and was only viewed by one other account.
Bryant is accused of helping to plan the attack
Bryant was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder in a
foreign country — a “novel” charge for a case like this, said Acting
U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd during a press conference.
Bryant made a first appearance in court on Tuesday afternoon and is
being detained ahead of a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 20. The
federal public defender's office, which represents Bryant, did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
Communicating over Discord with Van Rootselaar, Bryant gave tactical
advice on how to carry out the killings to have the strongest impact,
according to the complaint.
“Hallways also mean a lot of ways people can escape,” Bryant wrote, the
complaint said. “Corners to turn. Wide open spaces means numbers.”
Bryant also sent Van Rootselaar money to purchase a lighter that would
be used to construct an explosive device and advised Van Rootselaar
about how to keep the plot a secret by deleting online messages and
using virtual private networks, officials said.
According to the criminal complaint, Bryant and Van Rootselaar met
online about three years ago on Omegle, a since-shuttered video chat
site that connected users with strangers at random. Their communications
were sporadic during the first year because she was “institutionalized”
after being deemed a danger to herself, the complaint said. She was
locked up again after setting her room on fire. But they spoke daily
during the six months leading up to the attack, officials said.
“Van Rootselaar often spoke about planning to use guns to murder her
family members and others because she felt she had been mistreated,” the
complaint said.
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A mother and son pay their respects at a memorial for the victims of
a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, Feb. 14,
2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
Both Van Rootselaar and Bryant identified as trans, Herrington said.
But authorities do not have any indication that’s why they stayed
connected online, he said.
Bryant sometimes urged Van Rootselaar to reconsider, officials
say
Bryant tried to talk Van Rootselaar out of committing the attack at
various points, authorities said.
“I truly hope you reconsider today,” Bryant told her in January,
according to the complaint. “I wish there were any other path for
you, you shouldn’t have to do something like this.”
But ultimately, Bryant did not alert law enforcement and instead
provided support for carrying out the shooting, authorities said.
When Van Rootselaar expressed concern that Bryant would “snitch” and
alert authorities, Bryant repeatedly assured her that would not
happen, officials said.
“I could,” Bryant wrote, according to the filing. “I don’t want to
honestly. I know I can like, save lives I guess but idk,” using the
abbreviation for “I don’t know.”
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in Ottawa
that the allegations were devastating.
“Nothing will bring back the eight lives that were devastated back
in February, but it is important that those who are responsible are
held to account," he told reporters.
Anandasangaree said it was too soon to say whether Bryant could also
face charges in Canada, but added that Canadian prosecution would be
possible if investigators determine Canadian laws were broken.
Bob Zimmer, the federal lawmaker who represents Tumbler Ridge, said
the victims deserve answers.
“It is deeply troubling, the allegations that this individual
coached the shooter all throughout the process in an effort to
livestream the event,” Zimmer said.
Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometers
(600 miles) northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia, near the
provincial border with Alberta. The provincial government website
lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students from
Grades 7 to 12.
The families of victims are suing artificial intelligence company
OpenAI in U.S. federal court, seeking to hold the ChatGPT maker
responsible for failing to alert police to the shooter’s alarming
interactions with the chatbot.
___
The story and headline have been corrected to identify Bryant as a
resident of Washington. Authorities say Bryant identifies as female.
Associated Press reporter Rob Gillies contributed to this report
from Toronto.
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