toronto – OpenAI, creator of ChatGPTsaid Friday that last year he considered alerting Canadian police about the activities of a person who months later committed one of the worst school shootings in the country’s history.
OpenAI indicated that, last June, it identified Jesse Van Rootselaar’s account through abuse detection measures for “promotion of violent activities.”
The San Francisco tech company said it considered referring the account to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but determined at the time that the account activity did not meet the threshold for referral to police. OpenAI banned the account in June 2025 for violating its usage policy.
The 18-year-old killed eight people in a remote area of British Columbia last week and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
OpenAI explained that the threshold for referring a user to police is if the case involves an imminent and credible risk of causing serious physical harm to others. The company said it did not identify credible or imminent planning. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the OpenAI revelation.
OpenAI said that after learning of the school shooting, its employees contacted the Mounties with information about the person and his use of ChatGPT.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the Tumbler Ridge tragedy. We proactively contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with information about the individual and his use of ChatGPT, and we will continue to support their investigation,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.
Police Sergeant Kris Clark confirmed in an emailed statement Friday that OpenAI contacted authorities after the shootings.
Clark said a “thorough review of content on electronic devices, as well as social media and online activities” of Van Rootselaar is underway. He added that “digital and physical” evidence is being collected, prioritized and processed methodically.
Mounties said Van Rootselaar first killed his mother and stepbrother in their home before attacking the nearby school. Van Rootselaar had a history of contacts with police related to mental health.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear.
The town of 2,700 people in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) northeast of Vancouver, near the provincial border with Alberta. Police said the victims included a 39-year-old teaching assistant and five students, aged 12 to 13.
The attack was Canada’s deadliest massacre since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and started fires that left another nine dead.