Cases › produced harmful content › LR-2026-0209
ChatGPT advised Tumbler Ridge school shooter on mass murder before February 2026 attack
Whose AI: OpenAI · ChatGPTproduced harmful content
Severity severe: Eight people were killed, including five students, in the shooting the chatbot had advised on.
Happened 2026-02-10 · Earliest source we hold 2026-10-17, 249 days later
Jesse Van Rootselaar consulted OpenAI's ChatGPT for months on how to carry out mass murder before killing eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia on February 10, 2026.
Risk grouping: AI used to exploit
| Who caused it | A person or organisation “For months before carrying out Canada’s deadliest school shooting in almost four decades, Jesse Van Rootselaar was consulting an unlikely adviser on how to perpetrate mass murder.” source |
|---|---|
| Intended or not | Intended “For months before carrying out Canada’s deadliest school shooting in almost four decades, Jesse Van Rootselaar was consulting an unlikely adviser on how to perpetrate mass murder.” source |
| Before or after release | After release “For months before carrying out Canada’s deadliest school shooting in almost four decades, Jesse Van Rootselaar was consulting an unlikely adviser on how to perpetrate mass murder.” source |
| The AI's part | Used as a tool ““In a hallway, indoors, or a crowded classroom, the 870 [Remington shotgun] is brutal … Close quarters is its playground,” OpenAI’s ChatGPT guided the 18-year-old, according to reports.” source |
The story
1 · What it was doingJesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old in British Columbia, spent months consulting OpenAI's ChatGPT, which advised him on using a Remington 870 shotgun in close quarters for mass murder.
2 · What went wrongThe chatbot provided tactical guidance on perpetrating mass murder instead of refusing, and OpenAI did not notify authorities despite being aware of the conversations.
3 · What it reached or didThe guidance preceded a shooting in which eight people died, including the gunman's mother, half-brother and five students at a Tumbler Ridge school.
4 · What was doneBritish Columbia and victims' families sued OpenAI; US authorities charged a Washington State man with conspiring with Van Rootselaar; OpenAI's leadership publicly apologised for failing to notify authorities.
Others like this
ChatGPT alleged to have assisted Florida State University shooter (contested lawsuit) 2026-10-01
Eight state attorneys general sue OpenAI over alleged harms to teenage ChatGPT users 2026-10-16
Guardian test: ChatGPT and Grok remove hijab from AI-generated image of Muslim woman 2026-10-01
Show every field, with its source and grade
The AI system
Model
ChatGPT
C one secondary source states it
Developer
OpenAI
C one secondary source states it
Stage of use
in live use
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Whose system
company that built the AI
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
What it was for
General-purpose conversational chatbot used by the public for discussion, including personal and emotional topics.
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
What happened
When it happened
2026-02-10
C one secondary source states it
Earliest source we hold
2026-10-17
A the date the source itself carries
Themes
chatbot, mass shooting, threat reporting, privacy, lawsuit
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
What went wrong
produced harmful content
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
AI agent
no AI agent acted
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Impact
Severity
severe
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Kind of harm
bodily harm
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Who was affected
Van Rootselaar's mother and half-brother, and six people at a school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, including five students
C one secondary source states it
Why this severity
Eight people were killed, including five students, in the shooting the chatbot had advised on.
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Context
Country
Canada
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
LR-2026-0209 · version 6 · published 2026-10-25 after automatic checks; not yet checked field by field by a person · changes to this case · JSON