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A person alleged to be Jesse Van Rootselaar is seen posing with a weapon in this Feb. 10, 2026, photo that was sent to James Bryant. — THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — U.S. Department of Justice (Mandatory Credit)
By The Canadian Press

FBI depicts Tumbler Ridge shooter’s guns, including ‘SKS’ once confiscated by RCMP

Oct 7, 2026 | 2:00 AM

An FBI complaint against a Washington state suspect accused of conspiring with the Tumbler Ridge mass shooter for months provides extensive new details about the guns that may have been used in the attack, and how the teenage killer may have obtained them.

The complaint sworn by an FBI agent in Seattle says James Bryant, who is charged with conspiracy to murder in a foreign country, told officers that Jesse Van Rootselaar stole firearms and ammunition from her family’s gun safe and hid them in her room “in preparation for a mass shooting.”

It also says in claims not tested in court that 18-year-old Van Rootselaar told Bryant in online chats that she had convinced another person to purchase ammunition on her behalf, and that one of the weapons she intended to use had been returned after previously being confiscated by the RCMP.

Van Rootselaar killed eight victims on Feb. 10, including her mother and brother at their home, and five students and an educational assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

The RCMP criminal investigation into the shooting is ongoing, despite Van Rootselaar having killed herself at the school.

Assistant RCMP Commissioner Elija Rain, who is acting commanding officer in B.C., says “investigators have made substantial progress in the criminal investigation.”

Rain says in a statement that the RCMP’s release of information about the case has recently been limited “because of the need to ensure our investigative theories and actions were not compromised.”

The FBI complaint released on Tuesday says Van Rootselaar told Bryant on the Discord platform that she possessed a 3D-printed foregrip, firearm magazines and a “switch” device for an SKS rifle, which the FBI says likely referred to a “machine-gun conversion device.”

Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, Wash., allegedly told the FBI that Van Rootselaar “ended up using some of these same items during the Tumbler Ridge shooting.”

A photo in the complaint depicts a person the FBI says is Van Rootselaar, posing on their knees in a black miniskirt and fishnet stockings, while holding an olive-green rifle with a telescopic sight on the morning of the attack.

On the end of the barrel is what appears to be a suppressor, decorated in the blue, white and pink bands of the transgender Pride flag.

Van Rootselaar was trans, and the FBI said Tuesday that Bryant identifies as female.

The FBI says that in December 2025, Van Rootselaar discussed a gun she said she was planning to use in the attack.

“The police knocked my SKS sights off zero a lil bit when they roughly confiscated it, so the gun has been hitting high and to the left,” she allegedly told Bryant.

Adjusting the sights would be “a lot of work and I may end up doing my plan with a gun with sights that are super off,” Van Rootselaar allegedly said, before adding “I’m sure I can still do fine.”

Another photo shows a Canuck-branded shotgun that Van Rootselaar said would also be used in the attack.

It is decorated with a sticker, also in blue, white and pink.

Bryant allegedly tells Van Rootselaar: “Love the stickers … stickers would be so funny to be seen in photos of the incident.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2026.

The Canadian Press


by The Canadian Press