FBI: Online Accomplice James Cody Bryant Charged In Tumbler Ridge Shooting

Weeks before a rampage left eight dead in Tumbler Ridge, Jesse Van Rootselaar sent a chilling message to an online friend she described as a shadowy figure. The 18-year-old transgender shooter allegedly wrote, 'I need attention before I die,' setting the stage for the violence on February 10, 2026. That attack took place in a remote Canadian Rockies town where Jesse killed her mother and stepbrother first. Police say she then drove to her old school, fired into a library at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, and killed one teacher and five students before taking her own life.

The two had chatted online for three years by that time. In those conversations they allegedly hatched plans, swapped photos of homemade bombs, and shared images of weapons decorated with trans motifs. They also mapped out how to cause maximum carnage. The FBI says this online friend was a direct accomplice. Last week the agency named the accused as James Cody Bryant, 30, who lived in Bellingham, Washington state. He is also transgender.

Bryant appeared before a judge in Seattle on Tuesday afternoon. Federal prosecutors charged him with conspiracy to murder people in a foreign country. The US Department of Justice said the charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison if convicted. Bryant has not yet entered a plea and no publicly listed lawyer has been linked to his case.

Thousands of miles away, Bryant's family in Florida is reeling from the idea that someone with 'a lot of potential' could have played such a role in this horror. His younger sister, Caitlin Bryant, 23, spoke to the Daily Mail from Tampa and said, 'I don't know how it could have gone this wrong with him or her.' Born and raised in Florida, Bryant lived with relatives there until moving across the country to Washington State in 2021. He came home only once, for their mother's wedding that August.

Caitlin believes she was closest to her brother. They bonded over video games, but she noted he was 'getting distant.' The two have not spoken since the middle of 2025. She learned in April 2025 that her sibling was taking cross-sex hormones and had been for a while, but said she had no idea about any of the online communications. Caitlin switched between 'he' and 'she' pronouns when referring to Bryant, whom she called her 'brother.'

She called the alleged plot 'bizarre' and said she saw no hint of radicalization, aggression or political extremism in Bryant. The family has not yet discussed what they can do. Caitlin fears they may not have the money to help out. She added, 'I personally would love to go over there to at least see him one last time, but I don't know if that's going to be possible.'

Bryant had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth after that April conversation, Caitlin said. He has no social media presence.

Caitlin Bryant's Discord and Twitch accounts have vanished into digital silence. Yet her alleged messages with Van Rootselaar now flood out in a massive 41-page FBI complaint. That document lays bare a twisted chat room driven by anger, suicide ideation, grievance, and a desperate hunger for notoriety.

Van Rootselaar had suffered through a series of mental health struggles. The chats paint a portrait of a young person consumed by pain, rage, and a crushing need to be seen.

According to the complaint, the pair met online around 2023. That was roughly three years before the attack happened. Caitlin noted that Van Rootselaar was still a minor back then.

Van Rootselaar was later hospitalized after doctors deemed her a danger to herself. The document states this occurred according to official records. For a time, the pair lost touch completely.

They reconnected eventually. Investigators say the bond grew more intense in the final months leading up to the tragedy. Van Rootselaar frequently talked about killing family members and others she believed had mistreated her during these talks.

One chilling exchange involves Van Rootselaar discussing earlier Canadian shootings. She mused that she could 'steal that title,' according to the complaint text.

Prosecutors allege Bryant provided tactical advice, recommended specific firearms, supplied money for items connected to the planned attack, and helped test equipment. This testing was intended for a livestream meant to broadcast the massacre live.

The FBI released transcripts of this alleged dark chain of messages between Bryant and Van Rootselaar. At one point in the thread, Bryant praised Van Rootselaar for her 'solid plans' for a mass killing.

Bryant replied with advice on how to kill more people. About three days later, he suggested they 'find a way to delete' their messages from servers.

The document says Bryant 'knowingly and wilfully' conspired with Van Rootselaar starting August 2025 or earlier. This conspiracy stretch lasted up to six months before the shooting occurred.

These messages suggest a close, emotionally supportive bond existed between them. The pair seemingly discussed Van Rootselaar's personal grievances far more than any violent transgender ideology found in their words.

Over several months, they talked about weapons, blue, pink and white trans stickers to decorate them with, shoes to wear on the day of the event, and the money Bryant was providing for these purchases.

Van Rootselaar wanted the world to watch the attack happen. She asked Bryant to record and broadcast the assault live, the complaint says clearly.

Bryant told investigators that running the livestream was meant to 'placate' Van Rootselaar emotionally. Yet he admitted testing the equipment himself. On August 30, he allegedly wrote that the test stream 'looks solid.'

He stated plainly, If I don't livestream it people can be detached from the gravity of how I feel.

It is just another headline, Van Rootselaar reportedly told Bryant. She added she needed people to see it and witness the lives impacted personally, a demand Bryant allegedly agreed to meet. The day before the attack, Bryant claimed he adjusted his sleep schedule to help run the livestream, according to the complaint. Van Rootselaar sent Bryant a photo of the fully assembled explosive device used in the assault.

Communications between them on Discord began by August 2025 regarding plans to kill multiple people in Canada. The US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington states this is what happened. He allegedly advised her on concealing the plot, including deleting messages and using virtual private networks to hide online activity. He also told her how to construct a makeshift explosive device.

At some points Bryant seemed to try talking Van Rootselaar out of killing innocents. On the day itself she told him she was dressed for the attack and sent photos and video of herself with the weapons. Bryant said the stream was ready, then moments later she announced she had killed her family at home. When she could not start the car for the drive to the school, she asked Bryant for help.

Throughout the exchanges in the criminal complaint, Bryant repeatedly promised not to contact police. At one point he asked if she believed him when he said he would not snitch on you. In another message he conceded that saving lives was a possibility but admitted uncertainty while keeping the plan secret. Prosecutors allege Bryant helped pick locations without corridors or hallways so potential victims could escape.

Wide open spaces means numbers, Bryant allegedly wrote on August 25, 2025. He praised her solid plans elsewhere and advised using a handgun to cause damage. Yet the picture is mixed because at other points he steered her away from a school toward a grocery store or church. On February 10 Van Rootselaar first killed her mother and an eleven-year-old stepbrother at their residence in Tumbler Ridge.

Tumbler Ridge sits as a remote community in northeastern British Columbia. She then drove toward Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Police say she opened fire there killing five children and an educational assistant. The FBI released dozens of pages of conversations between the mass shooter and her alleged online accomplice. Bryant's case is unusual because the conspiracy involved a planned crime in another country.

He faces a federal charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. That offense carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison. In early January Bryant allegedly wrote he truly hoped she reconsider today.

I wish there were any other path for you, you shouldn't have to do something like this." The livestream on Twitch was shut down after only about 20 seconds despite Bryant's alleged help. Mike Herrington, the FBI's Seattle special agent in charge, said in a statement that Bryant acted 'in a way that would maximize notoriety for the shooter.' Without Bryant's misplaced loyalty and willingness to operate the live stream, we don't ultimately know if the shooter would have gone through with the crime, Herrington said. Van Rootselaar, he said, was worried that too few people would watch and was relying on Bryant to amplify the stream because she had few social media followers. Despite Bryant's activity on social media, she has no profiles or photographs easily locatable online at present. Caitlin said she is baffled by the FBI's account that Bryant first tried to talk the shooter out of the plan, then helped. 'They were trying to stop it, but then in the end, they just gave in and started helping,' she said, adding that none of it makes sense. Bryant remains in custody ahead of a bail hearing this week, followed by a preliminary hearing and grand jury process later this month.