Bellingham man charged with conspiring to commit murder in connection with BC school shooting

A 30-year-old man from Bellingham was arrested Tuesday on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a school shooting in British Columbia, Canada.

James Bryant was charged for his role in the shooting that occurred on Feb. 10, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

Bryant was allegedly frequently communicating with school shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar during the six months leading up to the school shooting that killed six people and seriously injured others.

According to the criminal complaint, Bryant encouraged Van Rootselaar and helped her plan the attack. On Feb. 10, Van Rootselaar killed two people at her home and then drove to the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where she shot and killed five children ages 12 and 13 and killed an educational assistant, the attorney’s office reported.

Law enforcement learned Van Rootselaar had been communicating with Bryant via the social platform Discord. Bryant and Van Rootselaar allegedly began talking on Discord around August 2025 about Van Rootselaar’s plan to kill multiple people in a shooting in Canada, according to the criminal complaint.

Complaint details Bryant’s alleged role in BC school shooting

Bryant reportedly agreed to visit and help in several ways, including broadcasting and recording the attack on Van Rootselaar’s livestream. Bryant allegedly helped Van Rootselaar test the livestream equipment, provided tactical advice about how to increase the carnage and what firearms to use, and sent money to Van Rootselaar to buy items for the attack. One of those included a lighter that was used to make an explosive device detonated moments before the shooting.

“The Tumbler Ridge Secondary School shooting was a horrific tragedy for that small community and for all of Canada,” Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd stated in the release. “Indeed, here in the Pacific Northwest we felt the pain of those families devastated by this violence. It is even more profoundly disturbing to learn that a resident of western Washington had a role in the attack and took steps – providing counsel, technical advice, and money to the shooter planning such a tragedy.”

Bryant reportedly assured Van Rootselaar he wouldn’t turn her in and would be there to handle the livestream. In the months leading up to the shooting, Bryant tried to talk Van Rootselaar out of the attack, according to the attorney’s office. But ultimately, he didn’t contact law enforcement.

“Even after Van Rootselaar had killed two family members, there was time to intervene before the school shooting,” the news release stated. “Van Rootselaar could not get the family car started to head to the school. Bryant gave advice about how to get the engine to turn over, allowing the shooter to put the school shooting plan in motion.”

The attorney’s office noted conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country is punishable by up to life in prison.

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