Suspect in Tumbler Ridge school shooting described violent scenarios to ChatGPT

The suspect in the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Jesse Van Rootselaar, was raising alarms among employees at OpenAI months before the shooting took place. This past June, Jesse had conversations with ChatGPT involving descriptions of gun violence that triggered the chatbot’s automated review system. Several employees raised concerns that her posts could be a precursor to real-world violence and encouraged company leaders to contact the authorities, but they ultimately declined.

OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood told The Verge that, while the company considered referring the account to law enforcement, it was ultimately decided that it did not constitute an “imminent and credible risk” of harm to others. Wood said that a review of the logs did not indicate there was active or imminent planning of violence. The company banned Rootselaar’s account, but it does not appear to have taken any further precautionary action.

Wood said, “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the Tumbler Ridge tragedy. We proactively reached out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with information on the individual and their use of ChatGPT, and we’ll continue to support their investigation.”

On February 10th, nine people were killed and 27 injured, including Rootselaar, in the deadliest mass shooting in Canada since 2020. Rootselaar was found dead at the scene of the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, where most of the killings took place.

The decision not to alert law enforcement might look misguided in retrospect, but Wood said that OpenAI’s goal is to balance privacy with safety and avoid introducing unintended harm through overly broad use of law enforcement referrals.

Updated February 21st: Added statement from OpenAI.