US resident conspired with Canadian school shooter before attack, officials say

A Washington state resident conspired with an 18-year-old to commit one of the worst school shootings in Canada's history, US officials say.

James Cody Bryant, 30, who local news reports goes by Melody and uses she/her pronouns, allegedly offered to live-stream the Tumbler Ridge attack, which killed nine people in Feburary.

Ms Bryant was in repeated contact with the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, offering technical advice and sending money, including for the shoes to be used during the attack, law enforcement officials said.

"James Cody Bryant had the information and ability to alert law enforcement and even discussed that possibility with the shooter, but he chose not to," Acting US Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Neil Floyd, said.

Ms Bryant was detained on a charge of conspiracy to murder people in a foreign country in connection to the shooting at Tumbler Ridge, according to the Department of Justice.

The charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

Court records did not immediately list an attorney for Ms Bryant.

One of Canada's worst mass shootings

Nine people, primarily children, were killed in the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in one of Canada's worst mass shootings.

Van Rootselaar, 18, who had suffered a series of mental health problems, killed her mother and stepbrother at home before shooting dead a teacher and five young students at her former school in Tumbler Ridge, according to police.

The shooter, who police said was born a male but began identifying as a woman, then died by suicide.

Ms Bryant agreed to live-stream a feed of the attack and broadcast it "in a way that would maximise notoriety for the shooter," Mike Herrington, FBI Seattle special agent in charge, said.

The live stream on Twitch was shut down after about 20 seconds, officials said.

Both Van Rootselaar and Bryant identified as trans, but authorities did not have any indication that was why they stayed connected online, Mr Herrington said.

Ms Bryant tried to talk Van Rootselaar out of committing the attack but ultimately did not alert law enforcement and instead provided support for the shooting, officials said.

"Without Bryant's misplaced loyalty and willingness to operate the live stream, we don't ultimately know if the shooter would have gone through with the crime," Mr Herrington said.

"We certainly know the shooter was concerned that not enough people would see the live stream without Bryant broadcasting it, and was depending on Bryant to amplify the live stream because the shooter did not have many followers on social media."