On Friday (24), the Canadian website Tumbler Ridgelines published an open letter with an apology signed by the founder and CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, in relation to a shooting massacre that took place in the city in February.
Dated April 23, it is addressed to the community of Tumbler Ridge, Canada, where 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed eight people and then took his own life on February 10. Van Rootselaar was a ChatGPT user, and her first account was suspended in June 2025 after the platform detected content that appeared to be “an indication of potential real-world violence.”
As a result, she was banned from the platform. The conduct, however, was not reported to the authorities. Shortly afterwards, the young woman managed to create a second account on ChatGPT, which was only discovered after the attack.
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“When I talked to the mayor [Darryl] Krakowka and with the prime minister [David] Eby about this tragedy, they conveyed the anger, sadness and concern that is being felt throughout Tumbler Ridge. We agreed that a public apology was necessary, but that time was also needed to respect the community while grieving. I share this letter with the understanding that each person experiences grief in their own way and in their own time,” he wrote.
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Altman says he is “deeply sorry” that OpenAI did not alert authorities when the ChatGPT account was banned in June, and continues: “While I know words will never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to acknowledge the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered.”
Finally, the executive reaffirms a commitment to working with all levels of government and looking for ways to “ensure that something like this never happens again”, he wrote.
The apology comes days after the Florida Attorney General’s Office announced an investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT following a mass shooting at Florida State University in April 2025.
According to information released by State Attorney James Uthmeier’s office, student Phoenix Ikner exchanged messages with ChatGPT before opening fire on several people on the Florida State University campus, where he left two dead and six injured. In a statement, Uthmeier stated that: “if ChatGPT were a person, they would be facing murder charges.” However, authorities did not disclose details of the messages exchanged between the shooter and ChatGPT.
