U.S. authorities on Tuesday arrested a Washington State man accused of assisting the teenage perpetrator of the February mass school shooting in Canada. The arrest followed an investigation into communications allegedly exchanged before the deadly attack, as reported [1] by Breitbart.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington identified the suspect as James Cody Bryant, a Bellingham resident who is 30.
Bryant was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.
The charge carries a possible sentence of up to life in prison. Bryant identifies as a “transgender woman” and uses the name Melody, according to information reportedly confirmed Tuesday by the FBI.
Authorities allege Bryant communicated frequently with Jesse Van Rootselaar, the transgender teenager who carried out the February 10 shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.
U.S. federal authorities have arrested a 30-year-old in connection with the February school m—ss shooting by a Canadian trans killer described in media as a “female in a dress.”
Jesse Van Rootselaar (pictured) killed seven people—all women and children—in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Canada.
The newly arrested suspect has not yet been named. Rootselaar is part of the surge of trans killers in multiple countries. I wrote about this phenomenon in my upcoming book, The Zizians. https://t.co/eruxyD5BQB
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) October 6, 2026 [2]
Investigators say those communications began months before the murders.
On the day of the attack, Van Rootselaar killed his mother and stepbrother at their home. He then drove to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where he shot and killed five children and an educational assistant.
Van Rootselaar later committed suicide after exchanging gunfire with local police. A makeshift memorial for the victims was present in Tumbler Ridge on February 13, 2026, three days after the shooting.
Investigators determined that Bryant and Van Rootselaar began communicating through the messaging platform Discord no later than August 2025. That was approximately six months before the school shooting.
During those communications, Van Rootselaar described plans to “kill multiple people in a shooting in Canada,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The criminal complaint alleges Bryant possessed advance information about the planned violence.
Investigators found chat messages in which Bryant allegedly agreed to assist Van Rootselaar in a “variety of ways.” The alleged assistance included recording and broadcasting a live stream of the killings.
Bryant also allegedly tested equipment intended to provide a “viewable” image of the planned attack. Authorities further accuse him of offering tactical advice concerning the shooting.
The complaint also alleges Bryant provided Van Rootselaar with a little over $100. Authorities say the money was intended to purchase a lighter and a pair of shoes that Van Rootselaar “wanted to have” when he carried out the shooting.
FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington addressed the allegations Tuesday. “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,” Herrington said, according to Fox News.
Herrington also pointed to statements attributed to Bryant in the complaint. “In the complaint, Bryant even admits to being maybe the only one who could stop the shooter,” he said.
Herrington confirmed that Bryant and Van Rootselaar both identified as transgender. He said Bryant, the arrested 30 year old man, identified as “female.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said Bryant had both the opportunity and information needed to contact authorities. “Bryant had the information and ability to alert law enforcement, and even discussed that possibility with the shooter, but he chose not to,” Floyd said at a Tuesday press conference.
“Instead, he encouraged and offered assistance to a murderer,” Floyd added. The allegations place Bryant’s reported communications and assistance at the center of the federal criminal complaint.
Fox News stated that Bryant and Van Rootselaar first encountered one another through a random pairing on the online chat service Omegle. That initial contact reportedly occurred roughly three years before the February shooting.
Investigators have no indication whether Bryant and Van Rootselaar ever met in person. Authorities also have no indication regarding what their transgender identities were or why they remained in contact.