Washington resident charged with aiding teenager in Canadian mass shooting

U.S. federal prosecutors have charged 30-year-old James Cody Bryant with conspiracy to murder for allegedly providing money and technical advice to a teenager who killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.

James Cody Bryant was arrested Tuesday in Bellingham, Washington, and is accused of assisting 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar in the February 10 massacre. Prosecutors and the FBI stated that Bryant, who identifies as female, had been in contact with the shooter for three years after meeting on the video chat service Omegle. During the six months leading up to the attack, the pair reportedly communicated via Discord, where Bryant allegedly provided encouragement and instructions on how to start a car to reach the school.

Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said during a news conference that Bryant had the information and ability to alert law enforcement but chose not to. Officials allege Bryant sent money for supplies, including shoes and a lighter, and offered to help livestream the killings. While Al Jazeera reported that Bryant agreed to broadcast the attack on Twitch, other outlets like NBC News and Fox News noted the offer to livestream without specifying a platform.

Outlets provided differing accounts of the casualties at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. NBC News reported the victims included five children—three 12-year-old girls and two boys aged 12 and 13—and a teacher. However, The Guardian reported that six children were killed at the school. Including the shooter's mother and stepbrother, who were killed before the school attack, the total death toll reached eight people. Van Rootselaar died by suicide at the scene.

The Guardian and Al Jazeera noted that Van Rootselaar had used ChatGPT to plan the attack, leading the province of British Columbia to sue OpenAI for failing to alert authorities after the shooter's behavior was flagged internally. According to U.S. officials, Bryant admitted to investigators that she was likely the only person who could have stopped the shooter. FBI Special Agent W. Mike Herrington noted that both Bryant and Van Rootselaar identified as transgender, though investigators have found no indication that their identities were a motive for the attack.

Background

On February 10, Jesse Van Rootselaar killed her mother and stepbrother in Tumbler Ridge before traveling to the local secondary school to continue the shooting. The attack is considered one of the deadliest in Canadian history and has led to legal action against OpenAI regarding its safety reporting protocols.