U.S. authorities arrested James Cody Bryant, a 30-year-old resident of Bellingham, Washington, on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced the arrest on Tuesday. Bryant is accused of providing assistance to Jesse Van Rootselaar, the perpetrator of a mass school shooting that occurred on February 10, 2026, in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. It is alleged that Bryant was in frequent communication with Van Rootselaar prior to the shooting, discussing plans for the attack.
On the day of the shooting, Van Rootselaar killed his mother and stepbrother at their home before going to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where he shot and killed five children and an educational assistant. Van Rootselaar later died by suicide after exchanging gunfire with police. Investigations revealed that Bryant and Van Rootselaar began communicating via Discord no later than August 2025, six months before the shooting.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, some chat messages indicated that Bryant agreed to assist Van Rootselaar in various ways, including recording and broadcasting a live stream of the shooting and providing tactical advice. Bryant is also alleged to have given Van Rootselaar over $100 for items related to the attack. FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington stated that Bryant had the opportunity to alert law enforcement but chose to assist the shooter instead. The two reportedly met through the online chat service Omegle approximately three years before the shooting. Investigators have not confirmed whether Bryant and Van Rootselaar met in person.