A Washington state woman has been accused of helping an 18-year-old plan one of Canada’s deadliest school shootings, including offering to livestream the massacre and advising her how to keep the plot secret.
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, communicated with Jesse Van Rootselaar for at least six months before the February attack in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.
Bryant, who identifies as female, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country. Prosecutors allege she provided tactical advice, money and instructions for concealing online communications but never alerted authorities.
Van Rootselaar killed her mother and stepbrother at home before attacking a nearby school, where five children ages 12 and 13 and an educational assistant were killed, authorities said. Twenty-five others were wounded.
Van Rootselaar was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to the criminal complaint, Bryant advised Van Rootselaar over Discord about how to maximize casualties.
“Hallways also mean a lot of ways people can escape,” Bryant allegedly wrote. “Corners to turn. Wide open spaces means numbers.”
Bryant also allegedly sent Van Rootselaar money to buy a lighter intended for use in an explosive device and advised her to delete messages and use virtual private networks to conceal the plot.
Investigators said Van Rootselaar attempted to livestream the attack on Twitch from a vehicle while holding firearms. The stream lasted about 20 seconds and was viewed by only one other account.
FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington said investigators do not know whether Van Rootselaar would have carried out the attack without Bryant’s alleged support.
Authorities said Bryant sometimes urged Van Rootselaar to reconsider.
“I truly hope you reconsider today,” Bryant allegedly wrote in January.
But when Van Rootselaar worried Bryant might alert authorities, prosecutors say Bryant reassured her she would not.
“I could,” Bryant allegedly wrote. “I don’t want to honestly. I know I can like, save lives I guess but idk.”
The pair met about three years earlier on Omegle and communicated daily during the six months before the shooting, according to the complaint.
In 2019, Jesse Van Rootselaar started to socially transition and posted online that she was on a six-month waiting list for hormonal treatment, though it is unclear whether she actually received medical gender-affirming care. Health authorities reported that she was never enrolled in any inpatient care programs in the region.
Bryant appeared in federal court Tuesday and was ordered detained ahead of an Oct. 20 preliminary hearing. Her federal public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Canadian officials said it was too early to determine whether Bryant could also face charges there.
The families of victims have separately sued OpenAI in U.S. federal court, alleging the company failed to alert authorities about the shooter’s interactions with ChatGPT.
