Eight months after one of Canada's deadliest school shootings, the investigation has crossed the border. American federal agents arrested a 30-year-old Bellingham, Washington resident on Tuesday who prosecutors say spent months advising the Tumbler Ridge gunman — sending money, offering technical help and agreeing to livestream the massacre so it would "maximize notoriety for the shooter."
The suspect, identified by the US Department of Justice as James Cody Bryant, faces a charge of conspiracy to murder people in a foreign country, which carries a potential sentence of life in prison. He was detained on Tuesday morning and was scheduled to appear in a Seattle courtroom later in the day, according to Reuters.
Table of Contents
- Months of contact, prosecutors allege
- The February attack that shocked Canada
- A rare cross-border prosecution
- Frequently Asked Questions
Months of contact, prosecutors allege
According to law enforcement officials, Bryant had been in repeated contact with the shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, for roughly six months before the attack. The relationship, prosecutors say, began on the video-chat website Omegle about three years earlier and deepened into an online friendship in which Bryant offered practical counsel for the planned killings.
The alleged assistance was granular and chilling. Bryant sent the shooter a little more than $100 — money used to buy a lighter and a pair of shoes Van Rootselaar said she wanted to wear during the rampage — and, on the morning of the attack, offered advice on how to fix a car that failed to start on the way to the school, acting US Attorney Neil Floyd said at a Seattle press conference, as reported by CNN. The pair also discussed sending weapons across the border, though prosecutors say Bryant ultimately balked at that step.
Most disturbingly for investigators, Bryant allegedly agreed to receive a live feed of the attack and broadcast it publicly. "James Cody Bryant had the information and ability to alert law enforcement and even discussed that possibility with the shooter, but he chose not to, and he encouraged and offered assistance to a murderer," Floyd told reporters.
The livestream did happen — on Twitch — but the platform shut it down after about 20 seconds, officials said. FBI Seattle special agent in charge Mike Herrington said the broadcast was designed to "maximize notoriety for the shooter."
The February attack that shocked Canada
The shooting on 10 February was among the worst mass killings in Canadian history. Van Rootselaar first killed her mother and stepbrother at home, then drove to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in the small Rocky Mountain community of about 2,400 people, where she shot and killed a teacher, an educational assistant and five young students. Twenty-seven others were injured. The shooter used an improvised explosive device to damage the school and tried to force her way into classrooms by firing through locked doors, according to investigators. Police officers arrived within minutes; Van Rootselaar exchanged gunfire with them before dying by suicide.
School shootings are almost unheard of in Canada, and the attack left the country in shock — Prime Minister Mark Carney postponed a European trip, ordered flags flown at half-mast for a week, and led a moment of silence in Parliament. Questions about how the shooter, who had a documented history of mental-health interventions, obtained weapons and planned the attack so methodically have lingered ever since — and the arrest in Washington now suggests at least part of the answer lay across the border.
For readers following the broader pattern of mass-casualty attacks and the claims made about them, Chronicle has covered the facts around the Las Vegas 2017 shooting separately.
A rare cross-border prosecution
The charge itself — conspiracy to murder people in a foreign country — is an unusual federal statute, and its use here signals that American prosecutors consider Bryant's alleged encouragement a form of participation in the killings themselves. Court records did not immediately list an attorney for Bryant as of Tuesday.
The case also raises uncomfortable questions about online platforms. The shooter and the accused met on Omegle, coordinated over the internet, and attempted to turn the murders into streaming content. How much of that activity was visible to the platforms involved — and what, if anything, they did about it — is likely to become part of the prosecution's narrative.
Authorities in both countries framed the arrest as justice for a grieving community. "The Tumbler Ridge Secondary School shooting was a horrific tragedy for that small community and for all of Canada," Floyd said. "It is even more profoundly disturbing to learn that a resident of Western Washington had a role in the attack and took steps — providing counsel, technical advice, and money to the shooter planning such a tragedy."
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was arrested in connection with the Tumbler Ridge shooting?
James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, Washington, was arrested by US authorities on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, and charged with conspiracy to murder people in a foreign country.
What is Bryant accused of doing?
Prosecutors allege he spent months in contact with shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar, offering advice, sending money, helping troubleshoot problems on the day of the attack, and agreeing to livestream the shooting. He was not present at the scene.
How many people died in the Tumbler Ridge shooting?
Nine people died including the shooter: the shooter killed her mother and stepbrother at home, then a teacher, an educational assistant and five students at the school, before dying by suicide. Police revised the toll down from initial reports of ten.
Where is the case being tried?
The conspiracy charge was filed in US federal court in Washington state, where Bryant was arrested. He appeared in a Seattle courtroom on Tuesday afternoon.
Did the livestream of the attack spread online?
Authorities say the attack was briefly streamed on Twitch but the platform shut the feed down after about 20 seconds.
