SEATTLE — A 30-year-old Washington state resident has been arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country over February’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday, BBC News and The Guardian reported.
Federal prosecutors allege James Bryant was in daily contact with the 18-year-old shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, on the Discord app for six months before the attack, offering “technical advice,” sending money and agreeing to livestream the killings. Bryant had the “information and ability to alert law enforcement, and even discussed that possibility with the suspect, but chose not to,” acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd told a joint news conference with Canadian police.
Eight people were killed in the February attack: five children and an educator at the school, along with the shooter’s mother and 11-year-old stepbrother, making it one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history. Van Rootselaar died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities said that after the killings at the family home, the shooter could not start the car and Bryant gave advice on turning on the engine, allowing the shooter to reach the school.
“Without Bryant’s misplaced loyalty and willingness to operate the livestream, we don’t ultimately know if the shooter would have gone through with the crime,” said W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle office. The stream was online for only about 20 seconds and was viewed by one account, according to court documents cited by the BBC. Investigators said Bryant at times tried to talk the shooter out of the attack but told Van Rootselaar he would not “snitch” to police.
Bryant faces up to life in prison if convicted. Authorities said there is no indication the two ever met in person. The case had already drawn scrutiny because the shooter used ChatGPT before the attack; British Columbia and some victims’ families have sued OpenAI for failing to alert police.
Sources: BBC News, The Guardian
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