A transgender Washington state resident allegedly helped enable a deadly school shooting in Canada by assisting the shooter rather than alerting authorities, federal officials said Tuesday. The Feb. 10 attack at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia left children dead.
James Cody Bryant, 30, was arrested Tuesday morning in Bellingham, north of Seattle. He is accused of sending money, providing advice and agreeing to livestream the attack carried out by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar.
“Bryant had the information and ability to alert law enforcement, and even discussed that possibility with the shooter, but he chose not to,” Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said during a news conference in Seattle.
“Instead, he encouraged and offered assistance to a murderer.”
U.S. and Canadian officials discuss the arrest of James Cody Bryant, 30, in connection with the deadly Tumbler Ridge school shooting during a news conference Tuesday in Seattle. (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington)
Bryant is charged federally with conspiracy to murder people in a foreign country. Prosecutors allege that he helped Van Rootselaar start a car so the shooter could travel to the school after already killing two family members.
“So even after the shooter had already tragically killed two family members, Bryant assisted the shooter in successfully traveling to the second location to take even more lives,” FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington said.
“In the complaint, Bryant even admits to being maybe the only one who could stop the shooter.”
Herrington said both Bryant and Van Rootselaar identified as transgender. He said Bryant identifies as female.
The pair first connected through a random match on the online chat platform Omegle about three years before the shooting.
Investigators have found no indication of what their transgender identities were, why they continued communicating or whether they ever met face to face, Herrington said.
Police tape surrounds Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and other buildings in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Feb. 11, the day after a mass shooting in the community. (Jesse Boily /The Canadian Press via AP, File)
According to Herrington, their online relationship evolved into conversations about violence over a period of at least six months.
“This complaint was particularly difficult to read, in part because of the casual tone these two individuals used when discussing the mass taking of innocent lives that was being planned,” he said.
Bryant allegedly agreed to record and livestream the attack in an effort to increase the shooter’s notoriety.
“Bryant even stayed awake after an overnight work shift to make sure this horrific act could be widely viewed online,” Herrington said.
Police officers and investigators work outside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after a mass shooting in the small British Columbia town on Feb. 10. (Eagle Vision Agency / AFP via Getty Images, File)
“We certainly know the shooter was concerned that not enough people would see the livestream without Bryant broadcasting it, and was depending on Bryant to amplify the livestream because the shooter did not have many followers on social media.”
Floyd said the attempted livestream on Twitch ran for about 20 seconds before it ended. Herrington said investigators do not know whether Van Rootselaar would have carried out the attack without Bryant’s agreement to manage the broadcast.
Officials also said Bryant provided financial help, including slightly more than $100 for shoes. A separate transfer of about $15 for a lighter was attempted but later reversed.
Community members mourn during a candlelight vigil for the victims of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where a mass shooting took place in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Feb. 10. (Paige Taylor White / AFP via Getty Images, File)
Floyd said Bryant and the shooter discussed sending weapons to Canada, but Bryant was uncomfortable doing so. Herrington said investigators had no indication the guns used in the attack came from the U.S.
Asked about a possible political ideology or group affiliation, Floyd said investigators had no information indicating either.
Herrington pointed to the shooter’s suffering and “a very keen focus on notoriety” as themes in the communications. The pair discussed other mass shootings, how the public reacted and a desire for the Tumbler Ridge attack to receive similar attention, he said.
The investigation crossed the border within days of the massacre, when Canadian police received information from an online platform used by the shooter and contacted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), British Columbia RCMP Assistant Commissioner Elija Rain said.
Floyd said investigators obtained subpoenas and warrants and reviewed thousands of communications, many on Discord, before making the arrest.
Canadian investigators have reviewed more than 90 statements from students, educators and first responders and continue to examine other online contacts, Rain said.
A screengrab from a video shows students exiting the Tumbler Ridge school after deadly shootings, in British Columbia, Canada, Feb. 10. (Jordon Kosik via AP, File)
“Our RCMP criminal investigation remains ongoing and the possibility of further charges being pursued in Canada remains under active consideration,” he said.
Herrington warned that assisting a mass shooting from afar does not shield someone from prosecution.
“If you think you are safe from prosecution because you did not pull the trigger, or were not physically present at the scene of the crime, think again,” he said.
“The FBI and our partners will use all of the considerable investigative tools at our disposal to hold accountable those who enable or assist in acts of mass violence.”
The Feb. 10 attack killed eight victims, including five students, an educator and the shooter’s mother and 11-year-old stepbrother, according to Canadian authorities. Van Rootselaar was found dead inside the school from an apparent self-inflicted injury.