Federal prosecutors accuse James Cody Bryant, a 30-year-old woman from Bellingham, Washington, of conspiring with Jesse Van Rootselaar to carry out a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, which killed six people and injured twenty-five others in February. The complaint alleges that Bryant provided tactical advice, financial support, and methods for concealing their communications over Discord for at least six months prior to the attack. Bryant is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country but has denied alerting authorities despite her reservations about the plot.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On February 10, 2026, Jesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old from Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, carried out a deadly school shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, killing five students and one educational assistant before taking their own life. The incident also claimed the lives of Van Rootselaar's mother and 11-year-old half-brother in a separate location nearby.
James Cody Bryant, a 30-year-old resident of Bellingham, Washington, was arrested on charges related to conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country for allegedly aiding Van Rootselaar. Prosecutors claim that Bryant communicated with Van Rootselaar over Discord and other platforms six months before the shooting, offering technical advice, money, and agreeing to livestream the attack.
The Tumbler Ridge community, located near the Alberta border within the Canadian Rocky Mountains with a population under 3,000, was deeply affected by this tragedy. The U.S. Department of Justice announced details about Bryant's arrest in a press conference held on Tuesday.
Written for “Canada School Shooting Suspects Arrested” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
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answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 62052 · logged 2026-10-07
A Washington state woman has been accused of helping an 18-year-old plan one of Canada’s deadliest school shootings, including offering to livestream the massacre and advising her how to keep the plot secret.
asserted
old → accuse → plot
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, communicated with Jesse Van Rootselaar for at least six months before the February attack in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.
asserted
Bryant → say → Ridge
Bryant, who identifies as female, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country.
asserted
who → identify → country
Prosecutors allege she provided tactical advice, money and instructions for concealing online communications but never alerted authorities.
asserted
she → allege → authorities
Van Rootselaar killed her mother and stepbrother at home before attacking a nearby school, where five children ages 12 and 13 and an educational assistant were killed, authorities said.
asserted
authorities → kill → school
Twenty-five others were wounded.
asserted
others → wound → ?
Van Rootselaar was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
asserted
Rootselaar → find → wound
According to the criminal complaint, Bryant advised Van Rootselaar over Discord about how to maximize casualties.
uncertain
Bryant → accord → casualties
“Hallways also mean a lot of ways people can escape,” Bryant allegedly wrote.
uncertain
Bryant → mean → ways
Wide open spaces means numbers.”
asserted
spaces → mean → numbers
Bryant also allegedly sent Van Rootselaar money to buy a lighter intended for use in an explosive device and advised her to delete messages and use virtual private networks to conceal the plot.
uncertain
Bryant → send → plot
Investigators said Van Rootselaar attempted to livestream the attack on Twitch from a vehicle while holding firearms.
asserted
Rootselaar → say → firearms
The stream lasted about 20 seconds and was viewed by only one other account.
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stream → last → account
FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington said investigators do not know whether Van Rootselaar would have carried out the attack without Bryant’s alleged support.
asserted
Rootselaar → say → support
Authorities said Bryant sometimes urged Van Rootselaar to reconsider.
asserted
Bryant → say → Rootselaar
“I truly hope you reconsider today,” Bryant allegedly wrote in January.
uncertain
Bryant → hope → January
But when Van Rootselaar worried Bryant might alert authorities, prosecutors say Bryant reassured her she would not.
uncertain
she → worry → her
“I could,” Bryant allegedly wrote.
uncertain
Bryant → write → ?
“I don’t want to honestly.
asserted
I → want → ?
I know I can like, save lives I guess but idk.”
asserted
I → know → lives
The pair met about three years earlier on Omegle and communicated daily during the six months before the shooting, according to the complaint.
uncertain
pair → meet → complaint
Bryant appeared in federal court Tuesday and was ordered detained ahead of an Oct. 20 preliminary hearing.
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Bryant → appear → hearing
Her federal public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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defender → respond → comment
Canadian officials said it was too early to determine whether Bryant could also face charges there.
uncertain
Bryant → say → charges
The families of victims have separately sued OpenAI in U.S. federal court, alleging the company failed to alert authorities about the shooter’s interactions with ChatGPT.
asserted
company → sue → ChatGPT
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