OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has apologized to a Canadian town devastated by a February mass shooting, saying he was “deeply sorry” the company did not notify police about the killer’s troubling ChatGPT account.<\/p>\n
OpenAI had banned an account linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025, eight months before the 18-year-old transgender woman killed eight people at her home and a school in the tiny British Columbia mining town of Tumbler Ridge.<\/p>\n
The account was banned over concerns about usage linked to violent activity, but OpenAI said it did not inform police because nothing pointed toward an imminent attack.<\/p>\n
Canadian officials condemned OpenAI’s handling of the case and summoned company leaders to Ottawa to explain its security protocols.<\/p>\n
The family of a girl who was shot and gravely wounded at the school is suing the US tech giant for negligence.<\/p>\n
In a letter Thursday addressed to the community of Tumbler Ridge, published Friday by the local news site Tumbler RidgeLines, Altman said “no one should ever have to endure a tragedy like this.”<\/p>\n
“I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June,” Altman wrote.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Van Rootselaar killed her mother and brother at the family’s home before heading to the local secondary school, where she shot dead five children and a teacher.<\/p>\n
She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after police entered the building.<\/p>\n
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