US authorities charge Washington man in connection with Tumbler Ridge shooting

US authorities announced on 6 October 2026 that they had arrested a Washington state man in connection with the deadly school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, Canada, in February.

James Codey Bryant, 30, faces a charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country, according to the US Department of Justice announcement reported by The Guardian. The charge is an allegation, and the reporting reviewed for this article does not establish a conviction.

Authorities allege that Bryant provided money and technical assistance to the suspected shooter during the six months before the attack. Al Jazeera separately reported the arrest and the allegation that the suspect offered money and advice online.

At a joint briefing involving US officials and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, authorities said the two had met through the messaging service Omegle roughly three years before the shooting and remained in contact, The Guardian reported. Officials said they had found no indication that the pair had met in person.

The February attack killed eight people, including six children at the school and the suspected shooter’s mother and half-brother, according to The Guardian’s account of the Canadian investigation.

The Guardian reported that Bryant would be prosecuted in the United States and that the FBI would continue working with Canadian authorities. It was unclear from that report whether he had a lawyer.