ChatGPT Creator Reveals Canadian School Shooter Bypassed AI Safety Measures

OpenAI disclosed that the perpetrator of a deadly Canadian school shooting circumvented their ban system by creating a second ChatGPT account. The company says new safety protocols would have alerted police to concerning activity if they had been implemented before the February attack.

The company behind ChatGPT revealed Thursday that the individual responsible for a devastating school shooting in Canada managed to bypass their security measures by establishing a second user account after being banned from the AI service.

OpenAI disclosed this information in correspondence with Canadian government officials, detailing new safety measures the San Francisco-based technology firm is implementing following the tragic incident. Company executives stated that had these enhanced protocols existed earlier, law enforcement would have been notified about concerning user activity.

Ann O’Leary, OpenAI’s vice president for global policy, explained that the company only uncovered the duplicate account after authorities identified Jesse Van Rootselaar as the shooter. Van Rootselaar took the lives of eight individuals before dying by suicide in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on February 10th.

According to O’Leary, Van Rootselaar managed to circumvent the platform’s systems designed to stop previously banned individuals from establishing new accounts. The company immediately shared information about the second account with law enforcement upon discovering it.

The correspondence indicated OpenAI is dedicated to enhancing its detection capabilities to better stop users from bypassing safety measures and will focus on “prioritize identifying the highest risk offenders.”

Van Rootselaar’s initial ChatGPT account was terminated in June 2025 following a policy violation, the letter revealed. OpenAI’s automated monitoring flagged the account, which was then reviewed by human moderators to assess whether the content violated terms of service and warranted law enforcement notification.

“Based on what we could see at that time the account was banned in June 2025, we did not identify credible and imminent planning that met our threshold to refer the matter to law enforcement,” O’Leary stated.

During a Thursday press conference, British Columbia Premier David Eby announced that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has committed to meeting with him directly about the incident.

Eby reported that OpenAI informed his administration that revised protocol thresholds would have triggered police notification regarding Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT usage if they had been active before the shooting occurred.

However, this information provided “cold comfort” for the grieving families in Tumbler Ridge, he noted.

In her official communication, O’Leary also pledged the company would improve procedures for alerting authorities “when conversations cross the line into an imminent and credible risk.”

“With the benefit of our continued learnings, under our enhanced law enforcement referral protocol, we would refer the account banned in June 2025 to law enforcement if it were discovered today,” she explained.

O’Leary confirmed OpenAI plans to establish a dedicated communication channel with Canadian law enforcement agencies.

“The events in Tumbler Ridge are an unspeakable tragedy, and our hearts remain with the victims, their families, and the entire community,” O’Leary wrote in her letter.

O’Leary expressed gratitude to Canada’s Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon for organizing Tuesday’s meeting to explore ways to prevent similar tragedies.

“In our meeting, you and the other Ministers stressed that no community should have to face this tragedy,” O’Leary stated. “We agree.”

Solomon summoned OpenAI officials to Ottawa to provide explanations about their safety protocols and how they make critical decisions regarding user content.

Solomon indicated “all options are on the table” as government officials work to create comprehensive policies addressing online dangers and broader digital safety concerns.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported that Van Rootselaar initially killed her mother and stepbrother at their residence before targeting the local school. Authorities noted Van Rootselaar had previous interactions with police related to mental health issues.

Investigators have not yet determined what motivated the shooting.

This attack represents Canada’s most deadly mass violence incident since 2020, when an individual in Nova Scotia shot and killed 13 people and set fires that claimed nine additional lives.