BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A 30-year-old Bellingham woman was arrested Tuesday in connection with a deadly school shooting in British Columbia, Canada.
That February shooting left eight people dead, including two at the shooter’s home and six at the nearby Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Five of the victims were children.
Court documents allege James Cody Bryant, who apparently went by the name Melody, communicated with the shooter for months leading up to the attack.
Bryant apparently offered advice, sent money, and provided technical assistance to the shooter, according to the Department of Justice.
The two allegedly communicated on the platform Discord.
“As their friendship developed over at least a six-month period, it began to focus on discussions of violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Herrington with the FBI’s Seattle Field Office.
Court documents allege Bryant agreed to help the shooter in a variety of ways, including by providing tactical advice on how to increase the number of people killed.
“Hallways also mean a lot of ways people can escape,” Bryant allegedly wrote in one message. “Corners to turn. Wide open spaces means numbers.”
“This complaint was particularly difficult to read, in part because of the casual tone these two individuals used,” Herrington said.
Bryant also agreed to help the shooter livestream the shooting, according to the complaint. It does not appear that stream ended up reaching any additional accounts.
At various points in their communication, Bryant assured the shooter she would not turn her in, according to court documents. Officials say that Bryant tried to talk the shooter out of the attack, but ultimately never reported her and continued to help her.
“I want the public to know it’s never too late to report information that may save lives,” Herrington said.
Documents show agents first interviewed Bryant in February just two days after the shooting. KIRO 7 asked why it took so many months after that to make an arrest.
“So, as part of the investigation, we had to get subpoenas and warrants to get copies of communications,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd with the Western District of Washington. “And of course, this is kind of a novel charge... to charge for what is essentially a school shooting and use this statute, so we wanted to make sure that we got it right.”
Bryant was arrested Tuesday on a criminal complaint charging conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. Prosecutors filed the criminal complaint to expedite Bryant’s arrest. A grand jury must now vote to indict Bryant for the felony case to go to trial in federal court.
If convicted, she could face life in prison.
Bryant is due back in court for a detention hearing next week.
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