OpenAI apologizes for not reporting Tumbler Ridge shooting suspect

On Friday, local news site Tumbler Ridgelines published an apology from OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman concerning a mass shooting. The letter, dated April 23, is addressed to the community of Tumbler Ridge, a small town in British Columbia, Canada, where the alleged shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed eight people and then herself on Feb. 10. Van Rootselaar used ChatGPT, and her first account was suspended in June 2025 after it detected content that presented as "an indication of potential real-world violence." She was then banned, but OpenAI didn't report her to law enforcement, and she was able to create a second ChatGPT account that wasn't discovered until after the shooting. Weeks after the shooting, OpenAI announced it would change its safety protocols. British Columbia Premier David Eby stated in March that Sam Altman would apologize and call for better regulations, and, as Tumbler Ridgelines pointed out, it's now here a month later. "When I spoke with Mayor [Darryl] Krakowka and Premier Eby about this tragedy, they conveyed the anger, sadness, and concern being felt across Tumbler Ridge. We agreed a public apology was necessary, but that time was also needed