Washington resident conspired with Canadian school shooter before attack, officials say
SEATTLE -- Federal authorities said Tuesday that they have arrested and charged a 30-year-old from Washington state with encouraging an 18-year-old to commit one of the worst school shootings in Canada's history by offering to livestream the February attack, providing money and sharing advice on how to delete online messages to keep the plot a secret.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle said James Cody Bryant of Bellingham, Washington, communicated with Jesse Van Rootselaar in British Columbia for at least six months ahead of the shooting. Bryant, who identifies as female, did not report Van Rootselaar's plans to authorities, authorities allege.
W. Mike Herrington, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle office, said without Bryant's “misplaced loyalty" and willingness to livestream the killings, officials didn't know if Van Rootselaar would have gone through with the attack.
“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," Herrington added.
Authorities say Van Rootselaar first killed her mother and stepbrother at home before attacking a nearby school in the mountain community of Tumbler Ridge, killing five children ages 12 and 13 at the school as well as an educational assistant. Twenty-five others were wounded.
Van Rootselaar was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators accessed Van Rootselaar's Twitch account and found that she had initiated a video livestream while sitting in her vehicle with a rifle and long gun in her lap. The livestream lasted about 20 seconds before it was disconnected, and was only viewed by one other account.
Bryant was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country — a “novel” charge for a case like this, said Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd during a press conference.
Bryant made a first appearance in court on Tuesday afternoon and is being detained ahead of a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 20. The federal public defender's office, which represents Bryant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Communicating over Discord with Van Rootselaar, Bryant gave tactical advice on how to carry out the killings to have the strongest impact, according to the complaint.
“Hallways also mean a lot of ways people can escape,” Bryant wrote, the complaint said. “Corners to turn. Wide open spaces means numbers.”
Bryant also sent Van Rootselaar money to purchase a lighter that would be used to construct an explosive device and advised Van Rootselaar about how to keep the plot a secret by deleting online messages and using virtual private networks, officials said.
According to the criminal complaint, Bryant and Van Rootselaar met online about three years ago on Omegle, a since-shuttered video chat site that connected users with strangers at random. Their communications were sporadic during the first year because she was “institutionalized” after being deemed a danger to herself, the complaint said. She was locked up again after setting her room on fire. But they spoke daily during the six months leading up to the attack, officials said.
“Van Rootselaar often spoke about planning to use guns to murder her family members and others because she felt she had been mistreated,” the complaint said.
Both Van Rootselaar and Bryant identified as trans, Herrington said. But authorities do not have any indication that’s why they stayed connected online, he said.
Bryant tried to talk Van Rootselaar out of committing the attack at various points, authorities said.
“I truly hope you reconsider today,” Bryant told her in January, according to the complaint. “I wish there were any other path for you, you shouldn’t have to do something like this.”
But ultimately, Bryant did not alert law enforcement and instead provided support for carrying out the shooting, authorities said.
When Van Rootselaar expressed concern that Bryant would “snitch” and alert authorities, Bryant repeatedly assured her that would not happen, officials said.
“I could,” Bryant wrote, according to the filing. “I don’t want to honestly. I know I can like, save lives I guess but idk,” using the abbreviation for “I don’t know.”
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in Ottawa that the allegations were devastating.
“Nothing will bring back the eight lives that were devastated back in February, but it is important that those who are responsible are held to account," he told reporters.
Anandasangaree said it was too soon to say whether Bryant could also face charges in Canada, but added that Canadian prosecution would be possible if investigators determine Canadian laws were broken.
Bob Zimmer, the federal lawmaker who represents Tumbler Ridge, said the victims deserve answers.
“It is deeply troubling, the allegations that this individual coached the shooter all throughout the process in an effort to livestream the event,” Zimmer said.
Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia, near the provincial border with Alberta. The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students from Grades 7 to 12.
The families of victims are suing artificial intelligence company OpenAI in U.S. federal court, seeking to hold the ChatGPT maker responsible for failing to alert police to the shooter’s alarming interactions with the chatbot.
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The story and headline have been corrected to identify Bryant as a resident of Washington. Authorities say Bryant identifies as female.
Associated Press reporter Rob Gillies contributed to this report from Toronto.
