Tumbler Ridge killer decorated guns with transgender flag, chose ‘cute’ outfit for mass murder

A 30-year-old Washington state resident, James Cody Bryant, has been charged in relation to the Tumbler Ridge School mass shooting in February 2026. According to court documents, Bryant had an online relationship with the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, that began three years before the shooting, with daily contact in the six months leading up to it.

The investigation revealed that Van Rootselaar and Bryant planned the attack, with Bryant accused of giving Van Rootselaar money and advice, and escalating the situation. Van Rootselaar killed eight victims, including her mother and brother at their home, and five students and an educational assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, before taking her own life.

According to the National Post, the murder weapons were decorated with transgender iconography. Van Rootselaar allegedly stole firearms and ammunition from her family's gun safe and hid them in her room "in preparation for a mass shooting." The RCMP's criminal investigation into the shooting is ongoing, with investigators making "substantial progress."

Brief written by urgent.news from National Post, Vancouver Sun, Global News, CBC Canada, CityNews — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.