US arrests Washington man accused of helping plan deadly Tumbler Ridge school shooting

US authorities have arrested a 30-year-old Washington state man accused of helping a teenager plan February’s deadly school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.

James Cody Bryant was detained in Bellingham on Tuesday morning on a federal charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison. He was due in court in Seattle on Tuesday afternoon; court records did not immediately list an attorney for him. R C

Acting US Attorney Neil Floyd said Bryant was in repeated contact with 18-year-old shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar over several months, offering advice, sending a little over $100 — spent on a lighter and shoes the shooter wanted to wear — and agreeing to livestream the attack. The pair met on the video chat site Omegle about three years before the shooting, officials said. C

Bryant discussed alerting law enforcement but never did so, Floyd said. The agreed Twitch livestream was shut down after about 20 seconds, officials said. R F

The 10 February 2026 attack at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School left eight people dead — five students, a teacher, and the shooter’s mother and 11-year-old stepbrother — and dozens wounded, while Van Rootselaar died by suicide, according to Canadian authorities. F

FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington said officials understood both Bryant and Van Rootselaar identified as transgender. F