Federal authorities arrested 30-year-old James Cody Bryant in Bellingham, Washington, charging them with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country for allegedly advising, funding, and planning a February school massacre in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, that left eight people dead.
Federal Arrest in Washington Over Tumbler Ridge Massacre
James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, Washington, was taken into custody by federal authorities in Bellingham north of Seattle on a single federal count of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country, bringing an American resident into the cross-border investigation of one of Canada’s deadliest school shootings. Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd called the charge a novel
legal step for a case of this nature during a joint news conference with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Bryant made an initial appearance in federal court on Tuesday afternoon and remains detained ahead of a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 20.
Plotting Attacks Through Months of Discord Messages
Investigators say Bryant and the shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, met on Omegle, a once-popular website that paired users randomly for text and video chats before shutting down in November 2023. Over the six months leading up to the attack, the two exchanged more than 30 pages of messages on Discord discussing violence.
According to court documents cited by the U.S. Justice Department, Bryant provided tactical guidance on carrying out the killings, including suggestions that wide open spaces
are conducive to more casualties. Authorities stated that Bryant sent Van Rootselaar money.
The Feb. 10 Rampage in British Columbia
The attack unfolded on Feb. 10 in Tumbler Ridge, a small mountain community in northeastern British Columbia. Van Rootselaar first shot and killed her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother inside their home. When she experienced trouble starting her vehicle afterward, Bryant provided instructions on getting the engine running so she could proceed to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
At the school, Van Rootselaar killed five children—three 12-year-old girls, a 12-year-old boy, and a 13-year-old boy—along with an educational assistant. Twenty-five others sustained injuries before Van Rootselaar died by suicide at the scene.
Planning Livestream Broadcast to Amplify Massacre Reach
Investigators recovered digital evidence showing that Bryant agreed to broadcast the massacre live over the internet to amplify its reach. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle office, noted that the shooter worried about having too few social media followers to draw an audience independently.
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 said during the press briefing reported by WSB-TV.
To maintain secrecy, Bryant suggested deleting online messages and using a virtual private network. When Van Rootselaar expressed fear that Bryant might alert authorities, Bryant offered repeated assurances: I could,
Bryant wrote in messages detailed in the filings, I don’t want to honestly.
Facing Lawsuits over Failure to Stop Violence
Federal officials emphasized that Bryant possessed both the knowledge and the opportunity to stop the violence. Instead, he encouraged and offered assistance to a murderer,
Floyd stated, according to The Guardian.
Victims’ families and the provincial government of British Columbia have filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court against OpenAI, alleging that the company failed to alert law enforcement after Van Rootselaar discussed violent plans with its ChatGPT chatbot prior to the attack. Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree noted that the allegations from the U.S. were absolutely devastating
.
Meanwhile, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Elija Rain confirmed that the RCMP criminal investigation remains active, leaving open the possibility of additional charges pursued within Canada.
