OpenAI banned a ChatGPT account owned by the suspect of a mass shooting in British Columbia more than half a year before the attack took place.
The AI company said they had identified an account owned by Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025 under abuse and enforcement detection, which includes identifying accounts being used to further violence.
OpenAI said it did not alert authorities to the account because its usage did not meet its threshold of a credible or imminent plan for serious physical harm to others.
It said its thoughts were with everyone affected by the tragedy and that following the attack it had "proactively" contacted Canadian police with information on the suspect.
Van Rootselaar is suspected of having shot and killed eight people in rural Tumbler Ridge on 12 February in one of the deadliest attacks in Canada's history.
