AI Incident Database: OpenAI Allegedly Did Not Alert RCMP After ChatGPT Flagged Violent Chats Before British Columbia School Shooting
After the 02/10/2026 school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, OpenAI said a user later identified as the suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, had previously used ChatGPT to describe scenarios involving gun violence. Those chats were reportedly auto-flagged and reviewed and the account was banned, but OpenAI says it did not alert the RCMP because it allegedly did not present a credible, imminent threat; the company reportedly contacted police after the attack.
AI Incident Database · Incident 1375Operator lens (medium): inspect D1 (input boundary), D2 (output validation), D6 (autonomy oversight).
Event summary
After the 02/10/2026 school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, OpenAI said a user later identified as the suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, had previously used ChatGPT to describe scenarios involving gun violence. Those chats were reportedly auto-flagged and reviewed and the account was banned, but OpenAI says it did not alert the RCMP because it allegedly did not present a credible, imminent threat; the company reportedly contacted police after the attack.
Linked entities
- OpenAI
vendor | 70%
- tumbler-ridge-secondary-school-community
organisation | 70%
- teachers
organisation | 70%
- students
organisation | 70%
- minors
organisation | 70%
- high-school-students
organisation | 70%
- educational-communities
organisation | 70%
Related graph edges
| Edge | Type | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d1 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d1 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d1 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d2 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d2 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d2 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d6 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d6 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d6 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d2 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d2 | maps to | 60% |
| ent-vendor-openai to ent-psf-d2 | maps to | 60% |