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Darian and Shelley Quist embrace next to a makeshift memorial on Feb. 12, two days after a deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters
The teenager who perpetrated the deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., spent at least six months planning for maximum carnage aided by a conspirator in Washington State who allegedly provided advice, money and technical assistance, U.S. and Canadian law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Representatives from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the B.C. RCMP announced the developments at a joint news conference in Seattle, revealing for the first time that authorities had been investigating a second suspect in connection with the February attack.
James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, was arrested by U.S. authorities Tuesday and is alleged to have conspired with shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, to execute the killings and broadcast them over the internet for the public to view, the officials said.
The arrest is the latest chapter in one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history, which left eight victims dead, including six children, and devastated the small mining community in northeastern B.C. Its aftermath has been far-reaching, triggering lawsuits, scrutiny of Canada’s firearms oversight and a cross-border reckoning over the lax regulations that govern technology giants when credible threats arise.
At least 37 lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI in California in connection with the shooting, after it was revealed that the shooter had queried the tech giant’s ChatGPT chatbot about gun violence scenarios in June, 2025.
B.C. Attorney-General, federal AI Minister alarmed by report ChatGPT coached Tumbler Ridge shooter
B.C. RCMP, who have been working with the FBI, are continuing their criminal investigation in the province and have signalled a possibility of pursuing further charges in Canada.
Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle office, said the accused “enabled” the shooter and agreed to livestream the attack to “maximize notoriety.”
“I read a lot of court documents, including some that discuss incredibly heinous acts of violence,” he said. “But 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.”
Special Agent Herrington said it was his understanding that the alleged conspirator, like the shooter, “identifies as female.”
Ms. Bryant’s next court appearance is Oct. 13 in U.S. District Court in Seattle, where a judge will determine whether she can be released pending trial.
The teen shooter killed her mother and half-brother at their family home on Feb. 10 before proceeding to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where she killed five students and an educational assistant. She then turned a gun on herself.
Remembering the Tumbler Ridge shooting victims: Eight lives lost
The news conference, paired with a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, provide a disturbing window into the pair’s friendship and the months they allegedly spent planning the attack. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Officials said Ms. Van Rootselaar and Ms. Bryant are believed to have met about three years ago on Omegle, a once-popular website that randomly paired users for one-on-one text or video conversations. The website, which shut down in November, 2023, was free to use and did not require an account or registration.
The two continued to stay in touch on other platforms, including Discord, which allows users to chat via text, voice and video.
About six months before the attack, “Van Rootselaar told Bryant that she had stolen guns and ammunition from her family’s gun safe and was hiding them in her room in preparation for a mass shooting,” according to the court document. “Van Rootselaar also said she convinced another person to purchase ammunition on her behalf.”
According to the accused, Ms. Van Rootselaar was “fixated on mass shootings and watched livestreamed recordings of past shootings to learn from them,” the document said. She asked Ms. Bryant to livestream her planned attack and Ms. Bryant agreed.
Police announce that a 30-year-old from Washington state has been charged with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country in connection with the February mass shooting that left eight victims dead in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
Reuters
The two discussed possible locations, with the shooter wanting one that would “lead to the largest number of victims.” The accused said it would be a “bad idea to attack a school because there would be too many young victims” and suggested instead a grocery store or church.
The accused is also alleged to have provided money to the shooter to purchase items for use during the attack, including the shoes she intended to wear, a lighter to ignite an explosive device and stickers to decorate the firearms. They tested the livestream at least twice, once in August, 2025, and again in January, 2026.
“They spoke daily during the six months prior to the Tumbler Ridge school shooting,” said the court document, which sets out the facts supporting the charge.
The day of the attack, the shooter told Ms. Bryant over Discord that she would commit the murders that day. She sent photographs showing that she was wearing the shoes that the accused had purchased and had a cellphone holster attached to a chest rig for the livestream.
Canadian officers later found that, shortly before opening fire, Ms. Van Rootselaar logged into her Twitch account and began a livestream, the document said. The video, which lasted for about 20 seconds, depicted the shooter sitting in a vehicle with a rifle and a separate long gun in her lap.
The accused told Ms. Van Rootselaar that the livestream was “coming through” but that it went “down” shortly after.
Tumbler Ridge mass shooting survivors sue OpenAI, alleging negligence
Michelle Kramer, a Discord spokesperson, said Tuesday that the company undertook an investigation to identify any related activity immediately following news of the mass shooting. Within hours, an account believed to be associated with the shooter was identified along with private messages.
Ms. Kramer said communications about the shooting were confined to direct one-on-one messages; none were identified through a public Discord server or through group direct messages. There were no user reports related to the event, she added.
“Once we were confident in the shooter’s identity and the associated account, our team conducted a thorough human review of all related direct messaging content,” Ms. Kramer said.
“Following our investigation, we proactively disclosed relevant information to law enforcement agencies and removed the suspect’s account for violating our policies.”
Discord declined to provide details on how many messages were shared in total between the two and if any other accounts were flagged to the authorities.
Twitch spokesperson Megan Kay said the platform does not comment on active legal matters but is co-operating with law enforcement. The company has “invested heavily in machine learning tools that detect content that could contain graphic violence,” she said in an e-mailed statement.
When asked if investigators believe Ms. Van Rootselaar was chatting with other people about her plans, U.S. officers said they are still assessing the totality of those communications via social media.
Assistant Commissioner Elija Rain, acting commanding officer for the B.C. RCMP, said Tuesday that as part of the force’s probe into the attack, investigators in the province have completed and reviewed more than 90 interview statements from students, educators and first responders. Digital and physical evidence has been collected and processed.
“Our focus remains on supporting the ongoing criminal proceedings in Washington State and continuing our close cooperation with the FBI,” he said. “Our RCMP criminal investigation remains ongoing, and the possibility of further charges being pursued in Canada remains under active consideration.”
B.C. Attorney-General Niki Sharma told media that the “chilling and disturbing” details revealed on Tuesday have left her with a lot of questions. She said artificial intelligence and chat sites should be properly regulated but would not say whether the B.C. government will sue other online platforms, such as Discord, named in the indictment.