OpenAI banned Canada shooting suspect months before attack

OpenAI banned a ChatGPT account linked to the suspect in the deadly Tumbler Ridge school shooting months before the February 2026 attack.

The account, belonging to 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, was flagged by the company’s abuse-monitoring systems following conversations that described violent scenarios. This activity triggered internal safety reviews, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

OpenAI employees discussed whether the information should be reported to law enforcement. Ultimately, the company decided the exchanges did not meet the “imminent and credible risk” threshold required for alerting authorities. Instead, OpenAI removed the account in June 2025 solely for policy violations.

An OpenAI spokesperson stated that the company seeks to balance user privacy with public safety, aiming to avoid the unintended consequences and distress that could result from overly broad referrals to law enforcement.

The shootings occurred last week in rural Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals across a family residence and a local secondary school. The suspect, Van Rootselaar, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, OpenAI proactively contacted Canadian authorities, providing information regarding the suspect’s use of its chatbot to assist investigators as they collected digital evidence. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Staff Sgt. Kris Clark confirmed in an emailed statement to the Associated Press that the company reached out to police following the shootings.

In an official update, the RCMP stated that investigators are conducting a thorough review of physical and digital evidence, including the suspect’s broader online and social media activity. Police added that officers have completed extensive witness interviews and launched an online portal to gather additional photos and video footage linked to the incident.