Transgender Washington State Resident Arrested in U.S. for Aiding Deadly Canadian School Mass Shooting
On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, federal law enforcement authorities in Bellingham, Washington, arrested 30-year-old resident James Cody Bryant, who identifies as a transgender woman named Melody. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington charged Bryant with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. Federal prosecutors allege that Bryant actively assisted and coordinated with 18-year-old Canadian transgender shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar, who carried out a mass shooting that claimed eight lives in British Columbia in February 2026.
According to a report by Breitbart News citing the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison. A 41-page federal criminal complaint reveals that Bryant and Van Rootselaar met approximately three years ago on the video-chat platform Omegle and began daily communications on Discord in August 2025 to plan the massacre. Investigators state that Bryant provided tactical advice on maximizing casualties and selecting firearms, repeatedly helped test livestreaming equipment to broadcast the attack, and transferred funds to purchase a lighter intended to detonate an improvised explosive device.
The mass shooting occurred on February 10, 2026, in the remote mining town of Tumbler Ridge in northeastern British Columbia. Van Rootselaar fatally shot her mother and 11-year-old half-brother at their residence before driving to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where she shot and killed five students aged 12 to 13 and an educational assistant, wounding two others, before dying by suicide. The criminal complaint alleges that when Van Rootselaar’s car stalled after the initial killings, Bryant coached her via text messages on how to restart the vehicle to reach the school. Seconds before gunfire began in the school hallway, Bryant confirmed she was watching the livestream on Twitch, which crashed after approximately 20 seconds.
FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington and Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd stated during a joint press briefing that Bryant had the information and ability to notify authorities and prevent the massacre, but deliberately chose to assist and encourage the shooter to amplify notoriety. Investigators and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) noted that while both Bryant and Van Rootselaar identified as transgender women, authorities found no indication that gender identity served as a motivating factor in the rampage, nor was there evidence of a shared political or ideological agenda. All criminal charges remain allegations until proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The town of Tumbler Ridge, home to roughly two thousand residents in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, witnessed in February 2026 one of the deadliest school shooting incidents in Canadian history.
Public safety policies, gun legislation, and the societal standing of transgender individuals continue to prompt significant debate across North America. Previously, Urania reported extensively on debates over the SOGI inclusive education framework in British Columbia and covered legal disputes concerning the placement and conditions of transgender women in Canadian federal correctional institutions.
