The FBI says James Bryant was calm and “not particularly surprised” when agents arrested him in connection with an alleged conspiracy tied to the Feb. 10 Tumbler Ridge school killings.
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The FBI described the arrest of James Bryant, an alleged co-conspirator in the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting, saying Bryant was calm and “not particularly surprised” when agents turned up at his Bellingham, Wash., apartment on Tuesday.
In an interview, W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office, said Bryant believed he was not criminally culpable because he was not directly involved in the Feb. 10 killings of eight victims by Jesse Van Rootselaar.
Herrington said Bryant was “very cognizant” of the risks of discussing plans for a shooting with Van Rootselaar, who killed herself at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
Bryant was charged this week with conspiracy to murder in a foreign country, with an FBI complaint citing months of conversations between Bryant and Van Rootselaar in which they allegedly discussed tactics and targets, including the livestreaming of the attack.
The FBI said agents arrested Bryant at his home after making sure the suspect would be there following his overnight shift at a fast-food restaurant the night before.
Herrington said the complaint’s release of a wide range of details was not typical, but that it was justified by “intense” Canadian public interest and because the information was not expected to endanger the prosecution.
The FBI complaint includes photos said to have been shared between Bryant and Van Rootselaar, and descriptions of the attacker’s guns and possible motivations that Herrington said had not been released by the RCMP.
Herrington said Canadian policy and legal regimes were more restrictive, while U.S. authorities and the RCMP had actively discussed what information to release as part of “a difficult balance” involving “very real privacy interests for everybody involved.”
He said he is “very cognizant” of the relationship with the RCMP and Canadian authorities and noted that if the RCMP expressed discomfort, U.S. authorities would “likely defer” to avoid disrupting investigations or any charges under consideration.
The RCMP has declined to provide details about the guns used in the attack, citing “ongoing court processes in Canada.”
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