ChatGPT-maker OpenAI announced Friday that it had considered alerting Canadian police last year about the activities of Jesse Van Rootselaar, who months later committed one of Canada's worst school shootings. Last June, OpenAI's abuse detection efforts flagged Van Rootselaar's account for "furtherance of violent activities." The San Francisco tech company deliberated on whether to refer the account to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but at the time, determined that the account activity did not meet the threshold for such a referral. OpenAI subsequently banned the account for violating its usage policy.

The 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar tragically killed eight people in a remote part of British Columbia last week before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The RCMP reported that Van Rootselaar first murdered her mother and stepbrother at the family home, then attacked a nearby school. The victims included a 39-year-old teaching assistant and five students, aged 12 to 13. This attack marks Canada's deadliest rampage since 2020. The town of Tumbler Ridge, with a population of 2,700, is located more than 1,000 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, near the provincial border with Alberta.

OpenAI's policy for referring a user to law enforcement dictates that a case must involve an "imminent and credible risk of serious physical harm to others." The company stated it did not identify credible or imminent planning at the time of its initial review. After learning of the school shooting, OpenAI employees proactively contacted the RCMP, providing information on the individual and their use of ChatGPT. RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark confirmed this contact, stating that a "thorough review of the content on electronic devices, as well as social media and online activities" of Van Rootselaar is ongoing. Digital and physical evidence is being collected and processed, and it was noted that Van Rootselaar had a history of mental health contacts with police. The motive for the devastating shooting remains unclear.