OpenAI CEO Sam Altman issued an apology to the community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on April 24 for failing to notify law enforcement of a ChatGPT account used by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who killed eight people at the town’s secondary school and a nearby residence on February 10.
The apology, dated April 23 and published by Tumbler RidgeLines, carries a detail that has received limited attention. Approximately a dozen OpenAI employees reviewed Van Rootselaar’s flagged account in June 2025, and some recommended contacting Canadian police, The Next Web reported. Company leadership overruled them, finding the account did not meet its threshold for imminent and credible harm.
Her first ChatGPT account was suspended in June 2025 after automated tools and human reviewers flagged content indicating potential real-world violence. She then created a second ChatGPT account OpenAI did not discover until after the shooting.
“I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June,” Altman wrote. “While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered.”
B.C. Premier David Eby, who shared the letter on X, called it “necessary, and yet grossly insufficient for the devastation done to the families of Tumbler Ridge.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman issued an apology letter to the people of Tumbler Ridge. The apology is necessary, and yet grossly insufficient for the devastation done to the families of Tumbler Ridge. 1/2 https://t.co/bqHoqQ5j08
— David Eby (@Dave_Eby) April 24, 2026
OpenAI has since voluntarily lowered its reporting threshold and established contact with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). No Canadian law currently requires AI companies to report identified threats to law enforcement.
Three days before Altman’s letter, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT provided “significant advice” to the suspect in an April 2025 shooting at Florida State University.
Great segment by Danamarie at Fox News covering our criminal investigation into OpenAI. pic.twitter.com/Ryv2JgdnuE
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) April 24, 2026
“If that bot were a person, they would be charged as a principal in first-degree murder,” Uthmeier said.
