In a letter to the residents of Tumbler Ridge, Canada, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he is “deeply sorry” that his company failed to alert law enforcement about the suspect in a recent mass shooting.
After police identified 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar as a suspected shooter who allegedly killed eight people, the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI had flagged and banned Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account in June 2025 for after she described scenarios involving gun violence. The company’s staff debated alerting police but ultimately decided against it, eventually reaching out to Canadian authorities after the shooting.
OpenAI has since said that it is improving safety protocols, for example by putting more flexible criteria in place to determine when accounts get referred to authorities, and by establishing direct points of contact with Canadian law enforcement.
In Altman’s letter, which was first published in the local newspaper Tumbler RidgeLines, the CEO said he’d discussed the shooting with Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka and British Columbia Premier David Eby, and they’d all agreed “a public apology was necessary,” but “time was also needed to respect the community as you grieved.”
“I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June,” Altman said. “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.”
Altman also said that OpenAI’s focus will “continue to be on working with all levels of government to help ensure nothing happens like this again.”
In a post on X, Eby said Altman’s apology is “necessary, and yet grossly insufficient for the devastation done to the families of Tumbler Ridge.”
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
Canadian officials have said they are considering new regulations on artificial intelligence but have not made any final decisions.
If you are in a crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Other Articles
BNB Chain Leads All Blockchains for AI Agents
No Comment! Be the first one.