Sam Altman Apologizes After OpenAI’s Failure to Report ChatGPT User Behind Tumbler Ridge School Shooting
April 25, 2026 – 6:51 pm
Summary:
Sam Altman expressed regret in an open letter to the community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, acknowledging OpenAI’s failure to alert police after detecting a user who went on to perpetrate Canada’s deadliest school shooting since 1989.
OpenAI knew. It chose not to call the police. Now Sam Altman is sorry.
In June 2025, OpenAI’s automated abuse detection flagged a ChatGPT user (later identified as Jesse Van Rootselaar) who had described gun violence in conversations. Approximately a dozen employees reviewed the flag and some recommended reporting Van Rootselaar to law enforcement. However, leadership overruled them, applying a higher threshold for credible and imminent threat reporting.
The account was banned, but no one was informed. Van Rootselaar created a second account and carried out the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in February 2026, resulting in eight fatalities and 27 injuries.
Altman acknowledged the harm caused and offered an apology:
I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June.
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.
OpenAI has since lowered its reporting threshold and contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but these changes are voluntary, and Canada lacks legislation requiring AI companies to report identified threats.