Back in February, there was a mass shooting in British Columbia, Canada, in which the male shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed eight people - two at his home (his mother and young stepbrother), five children and an educational assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School - before turning the gun on himself amid a shootout with police.
Over two dozen more were injured.
We found out soon after that Van Rootselaar, who had previously attended the school before dropping out, had been wearing a dress when the killings were committed, had "transitioned to female," and listed "she/her" pronouns in his social media profiles.
In an update to this story, the DOJ announced on Tuesday that they had arrested a suspect in connection to this case: a man named James Cody Bryant, who is 30 years old and resides in Washington state. Mr. Bryant is being charged with "conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country." What else did we learn? Bryant also identifies as female. Here are some of the other details released by the DOJ :
Shortly after the shooting, law enforcement learned Van Rootselaar had been in frequent communication with someone via the platform Discord. That person was identified as Bryant. According to the criminal complaint, Bryant and Van Rootselaar began communicating over Discord no later than August 2025, about Van Rootselaar’s plan to kill multiple people in a shooting in Canada. Numerous conversations between Bryant and Van Rootselaar are detailed in the criminal complaint. During these conversations, Bryant allegedly agreed to assist Van Rootselaar in a variety of ways: Bryant agreed to record and broadcast Van Rootselaar’s live stream of the murders; on multiple occasions, Bryant assisted Van Rootselaar in testing the livestreaming equipment to ensure it was functioning and would provide a viewable image of the planned killings; Bryant provided tactical advice on how to increase the carnage and what firearms to use; Bryant sent money to Van Rootselaar to purchase various items the shooter wanted in connection with the school attack, including a lighter that would be used to construct an explosive device detonated during the attack; mere moments before the shooting, Bryant confirmed that Bryant was receiving the livestream; and at various times Bryant advised Van Rootselaar about keeping the murder plot secret by deleting their messages and using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) for streaming the video of the shooting.
At various times leading up to the attack, Bryant assured Van Rootselaar that Bryant would not turn her in to law enforcement and would be there to handle the live streaming. In various conversations between August and the February shooting, Bryant tried to talk Van Rootselaar out of doing the attack. But ultimately, Bryant did not contact law enforcement and agreed to handle the live streaming just minutes before the attack. Even after Van Rootselaar had killed two family members, there was time to intervene before the school shooting. 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 Washington trans male who was arrested for providing support to the Tumbler Ridge shooter "assisted the shooter in successfully travelling to a second location to take even more lives." https://t.co/AXvgQakaWC
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 6, 2026
BREAKING: James Cody Bryant, the man federally charged in Washington state for allegedly helping the Canadian trans school mass sh—ter kill seven women and children in Tumbler Ridge, is TRANS. He identifies as female and uses the name "Mel," court documents show. I wrote about the Tumbler Ridge trans massacre in my new book. It remains one of Canada's deadliest attacks. The Canadian police and media referred to the deceased gunman as a "female in a dress." https://t.co/MwegrzIJWI
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) October 6, 2026
CBC has released a sketch drawing of Bryant. We are still working to verify real photos of him. https://t.co/anDCckJJZE
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) October 6, 2026
If convicted, Bryant could face life in prison.
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.
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