Home / Crime and Justice / AI Firm Weighed Reporting Shooter Before Tragedy
AI Firm Weighed Reporting Shooter Before Tragedy
21 Feb
Summary
- OpenAI detected user activity for violent activities last June.
- The company considered but did not refer the user to police then.
- OpenAI alerted police after learning of the school shooting.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, disclosed that it had identified the account of Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025 due to "furtherance of violent activities." At the time, the AI firm evaluated whether to report the account to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
However, OpenAI determined that the user's activity did not meet the established threshold for referral, which requires an imminent and credible risk of serious physical harm. The account was banned in June 2025 for policy violations.
Following the tragic school shooting last week in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, where eight people were killed and the perpetrator died by suicide, OpenAI employees proactively contacted the RCMP. They provided information regarding the individual and their use of ChatGPT, pledging continued support for the investigation.
The RCMP confirmed they were contacted by OpenAI after the shootings and are conducting a thorough review of Van Rootselaar's digital and physical evidence. The motive behind the attack remains unclear. The victims included a teaching assistant and five students aged 12 to 13.
