OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologized to members of the Canadian community, where a mass shooting took place in February this year, for not reporting the shooter’s account to authorities despite discovering that the account was being used for illicit purposes.
A mass shooting in a small community of Tumbler Ridge in northeastern British Columbia left eight people dead.
An 18-year-old man named Jesse Van Rootselaar opened fire at Tumbler Ridge High School, gunning down six people before inflicting a fatal gunshot wound on himself. His mother and 11-year-old brother were murdered at a nearby residence.
Sam Altman said the shooter’s ChatGPT account was banned in June 2025; however, a review found no imminent danger to the community. Therefore, the company did not alert the police.
The account was banned after automated abuse detection tools and human investigators identified potential misuse of ChatGPT for violent activities.
In a letter to British Columbia Premier David Eby, Altman said: “The pain your community has endured is unimaginable. I have been thinking about you often over the past few months. I deeply regret that we did not alert authorities about the account that was banned in June.”
He continued, “I want to express my deepest condolences to the entire community. No one should have to endure a tragedy like this.”
His apology comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an investigation into OpenAI following a mass shooting in April 2025 involving a Florida State University student.
Uthmeier said OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot offered important advice to the alleged shooter.
