OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has apologized to community members in Canada, where a mass shooting took place in February this year, for failing to report the shooter’s account to law enforcement 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 has left eight people dead.
An 18-year-old man, Jesse Van Rootselaar, opened fire at Tumbler Ridge High School and shot six people before fatally shooting himself. His mother and 11-year-old brother were killed in a nearby residence.
Sam Altman said the shooter’s ChatGPT account was banned in June 2025; however, an examination revealed no imminent danger to the community. The company therefore did not alert the police.
The account was banned after automated abuse detection tools and human investigators identified potential misuse of ChatGPT for violent activity.
In a letter to British Columbia Premier David Eby, Altman said: “The pain your community has endured is unimaginable. I have thought of you often over the past few months. I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement of the account that was banned in June.”
He continued: “I want to express my deepest condolences to the entire community. No one should ever have to endure a tragedy like this.”
His apology comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an investigation into OpenAI following an April 2025 mass shooting involving a Florida State University student.
Uthmeier said OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot offered important advice to the suspected shooter.
