OpenAI apologises over banned account escalation
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologized to Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, after the company failed to alert police about a ChatGPT account it banned in June 2025 and later linked to shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar. - British Columbia officials say Van Rootselaar, 18, killed eight people on February 10, including six children, after OpenAI had internally flagged her account for violent misuse but made no police referral. - The case has pushed OpenAI to add a Royal Canadian Mounted Police contact and tougher review rules after weeks of Canadian pressure. (cbc.ca)
Sam Altman apologized to Tumbler Ridge after OpenAI failed to tell police about a ChatGPT account it had already banned. (usnews.com) (tumblerridgelines.com) In a letter dated April 23 and made public on April 24, Altman said he was “deeply sorry” that law enforcement was not alerted to the account banned in June 2025. (tumblerridgelines.com) (globalnews.ca) Police have identified 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar as the person who killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge on February 10 before killing herself. CBC reported the dead included six children, an education assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, and one person at a home. (cbc.ca 1) (cbc.ca 2) OpenAI has said its systems and human reviewers detected misuse tied to violent activity in June 2025 and shut the account down. The company said the case did not meet its threshold for contacting law enforcement because it did not see an “imminent and credible risk” at that time. (cbc.ca) That distinction is the center of the case: OpenAI says it banned the user but did not escalate to police, while British Columbia Premier David Eby has said the shooting might have been prevented if the company had made that report. (cbc.ca) After the shooting, OpenAI said it proactively contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and later found a second ChatGPT account linked to Van Rootselaar’s name despite the earlier ban. (cbc.ca 1) (cbc.ca 2) Canadian officials pressed for changes in March. Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said Altman agreed to create a direct point of contact with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and apply newer safety standards to previously flagged cases. (tumblerridgelines.com) (cbc.ca) Altman’s letter says OpenAI will keep working with governments to prevent a repeat. The apology closes one part of the public fallout, but the questions now are about how AI companies decide when a ban is not enough. (tumblerridgelines.com) (cbc.ca)
