OpenAI apologizes for not reporting Tumbler Ridge shooting suspect

On Friday, local news site Tumbler Ridgelines published an apology from OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman concerning a mass shooting.

The letter, dated April 23, is addressed to the community of Tumbler Ridge, a small town in British Columbia, Canada, where the alleged shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed eight people and then herself on Feb. 10. Van Rootselaar used ChatGPT, and her first account was suspended in June 2025 after it detected content that presented as "an indication of potential real-world violence." She was then banned, but OpenAI didn't report her to law enforcement, and she was able to create a second ChatGPT account that wasn't discovered until after the shooting.

Weeks after the shooting, OpenAI announced it would change its safety protocols.

British Columbia Premier David Eby stated in March that Sam Altman would apologize and call for better regulations, and, as Tumbler Ridgelines pointed out, it's now here a month later.

"When I spoke with Mayor [Darryl] Krakowka and Premier Eby about this tragedy, they conveyed the anger, sadness, and concern being felt across Tumbler Ridge. We agreed a public apology was necessary, but that time was also needed to respect the community as you grieved. I share this letter with the understanding that everyone grieves in their own way and in their own time," the letter states.

Altman goes on to say that he's "deeply sorry" that OpenAI didn't alert law enforcement when the ChatGPT account 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," he wrote.

He also said he commits to finding "ways to prevent tragedies like this in the future."

"Going forward, our focus will continue to be on working with all levels of government to help ensure something like this never happens again," Altman wrote.

Eby posted on X that the apology is "necessary, and yet grossly insufficient for the devastation done to the families of Tumbler Ridge." Days prior, on Wednesday, he said that the investigation into the shooting has reached its final stages.

The apology also comes days after Florida's attorney general announced an investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT following a mass shooting at Florida State University in April 2025. A recent report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that eight in 10 popular AI chatbots assisted in planning violent crimes.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.