Sam Altman-led OpenAI on Friday (local time) said that it previously considered alerting Canadian police in 2025 regarding the activities of Jesse Van Rootselaar, the teen behind one of the worst shootings in Canada’s history, AP reported.
In June 2025, OpenAI said that it identified Jesse Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account via its abuse detection efforts for “furtherance of violent activities”.
The Sam Altman-led tech company said that it considered whether to refer the 18-year-old’s account to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) but decided against it as the account activity did not meet the company’s threshold for referral to law enforcement. However, it did ban Rootselaar’s account for violating the company’s usage policy.
The ChatGPT-maker said that it refers users to law enforcement only when there is an imminent and credible risk of serious physical harm to others. The company added that it did not find evidence of credible or immediate planning in this case. The Wall Street Journal first reported OpenAI’s disclosure.
The company also added that after learning about the school shooting, the employees shared information with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about Rootselaar and their use of ChatGPT.
AP reported, citing an OpenAI spokesperson, “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the Tumbler Ridge tragedy. We proactively reached out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with information on the individual and their use of ChatGPT, and we’ll continue to support their investigation.”
Canada school shooting
On 10 February, Rootselaar, an 18-year-old high school dropout, opened fire inside a school in Canada’s British Columbia, killing at least six and injuring at least 25. Before the trans teen went on a killing spree, they first carried out a horrific attack at their family residence and killed their 39-year-old mother and 11-year old stepbrother. The shooter later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Among those killed inside the school was a 39-year-old female teacher and five students, including three 12-year-old girls and two boys, who were 13 and 12.
Following the attack, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said that they were unaware of the motive behind the attack; however, he claimed that the teen had mental health issues. McDonald also added that the suspect was already known to law enforcement, noting that officers had made several visits to the family home over the years due to concerns over their mental health.
Two days after the attack, Rootselaar’s chilling images surfaced online, where they could be seen holding a rifle. Born biologically male, Rootselaar transitioned to a female almost six years ago and later identified as a female. They later dropped out of school, nearly two years after transitioning.
According to the Deputy Commissioner, the teen previously had a firearms licence, which had lapsed, and the police confiscated the weapons from their residence, which were later returned. Rootselaar, in the past, had been apprehended by the police on more than one occasion, under the provincial Mental Health Act for an assessment.
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have started making their way into people’s lives. While many thought the tool could be used to assist them, a growing number of cases are coming to light where children have been using the tools unsupervised, which has later led to drastic repercussions.
