James Cody Bryant, a 30-year-old Washington state resident, has been charged with providing assistance to Jesse Van Rootselaar, the Canadian teenager who killed eight people including schoolchildren on February 10 in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Prosecutors say Bryant gave advice and financial support to Van Rootselaar, even offering to livestream the attack, despite having opportunities to alert law enforcement. The charge carries a potential life sentence.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A 30-year-old Washington state resident was charged with providing assistance to a teenager who killed eight people in Canada, including schoolchildren, U.S. prosecutors said Tuesday.
asserted
prosecutors → charge → schoolchildren
James Cody Bryant, who the FBI said identifies as female, was arrested Tuesday and is charged with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country in connection with the Feb. 10 shootings in the British Columbia town of Tumbler Ridge, officials said.
asserted
officials → say → Ridge
Prosecutors said Bryant had been in contact over Discord with the shooter, who killed five children and a teacher at a secondary school as well as two other people.
asserted
who → say → school
He gave the shooter advice, money and offered to help livestream the killings, the U.S. Justice Department said.
asserted
Department → give → killings
Bryant ”had been in repeated contact” with the shooter, Neil Floyd, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, said at a news conference Tuesday.
asserted
Floyd → act → conference
Bryant ”had the information and ability to alert law enforcement, and even discussed that possibility with the shooter — but chose not to,” Floyd said.
asserted
Floyd → have → shooter
“Instead, he encouraged and offered assistance to a murderer.”
asserted
he → encourage → murderer
About 2 p.m. Feb. 10, Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, who was born male but had been transitioning to female for six years, killed her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother in the small town of Tumbler Ridge, officials said,
asserted
officials → bear → Ridge
She then went to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and killed five children — three 12-year-old girls and two boys, one 12 and the other 13 — and a teacher, authorities said.
asserted
authorities → go → children
Van Rootselaar then died by suicide.
asserted
Rootselaar → die → suicide
In addition to those killed, two other children were shot and suffered serious injuries, officials said.
asserted
officials → kill → injuries
Bryant attempted to talk Van Rootselaar out of the attack or reconsider several times but did not tell law enforcement about the plan and offered to livestream it, the U.S. Justice Department said.
asserted
Department → attempt → it
The two met on the former random video chat service Omegle around three years before the shooting and kept in contact through Discord, an online communication service, said W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle office.
asserted
Herrington → meet → office
There is no indication the two ever met in person, he said.
asserted
he → be → person
The back-and-forth messages on Discord cited in the complaint have a conversational and friendly tone.
asserted
messages → cite → tone
At one point, Bryant writes, “You believe me when I promise I won’t snitch on you, right?”
asserted
I → write → you
At another point, Bryant tells Van Rootselaar, “if you are uncertain, maybe take it as a sign.”
asserted
you → tell → sign
On the day of the shootings, after Van Rootselaar killed her mother and stepbrother, she had trouble starting her car, Floyd said.
asserted
Floyd → kill → car
“Bryant provided advice and offered assistance on how to get the car started so that JVR could proceed to the school and kill children,” Floyd said, using the initials for the shooter’s name.
uncertain
Floyd → provide → name
The charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country carries up to life in prison.
asserted
charge → murder → prison
Bryant was in custody Tuesday, officials said.
asserted
officials → say → custody
Online federal court records did not show an attorney representing Bryant Tuesday afternoon.
asserted
records → show → Bryant
The shooting was livestreamed on Twitch, but only for about 20 seconds before it shut off, officials said.
asserted
officials → livestreame → seconds
Twitch said an account appearing to belong to Bryant’s was the only account that saw it, according to the criminal complaint.
uncertain
that → say → complaint
Herrington, of the FBI, said the shooter wanted maximum views, but didn’t have much of a social media presence.
asserted
shooter → say → presence
“Without Bryant’s misplaced loyalty and willingness to operate the livestream, we don’t ultimately know if the shooter would have gone through with the crime,” Herrington said.
asserted
Herrington → operate → crime
“We certainly know that the shooter was concerned that not enough people would see the livestream.”
asserted
people → know → livestream
Elija Rain, assistant commissioner of the British Columbia RCMP, said that the impact of the shooting was widespread.
asserted
impact → say → shooting
“The people of Tumbler Ridge experienced a tragedy that forever changed the lives of families, friends, students, educators, first responders and the entire community,” he said.
asserted
he → experience → families
The Aporia
