OpenAI CEO apologises to Canada town for not reporting mass shooter

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has apologised to residents of Tumbler Ridge in Canada for not reporting the violent online activity of a teenager who went on to launch a mass shooting. Photo / Getty Images

OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has apologised 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.

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.

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.

Canadian officials condemned OpenAI’s handling of the case and summoned company leaders to Ottawa to explain its security protocols.

The family of a girl who was shot and gravely wounded at the school is suing the US tech giant for negligence.

In a letter on Thursday addressed to the community of Tumbler Ridge, published on Friday by the local news site Tumbler RidgeLines, Altman said “no one should ever have to endure a tragedy like this”.

He wrote: “I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June.

“While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognise the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered.”

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.

She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after police entered the building.

– AFP