OpenAI chief apologizes for not reporting shooting suspect to police


CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit of government officials, corporate executives, and labor leaders, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

April 25 (Reuters) - OpenAI ⁠Chief Sam Altman apologized to the ⁠Canadian community of Tumbler Ridge for ‌failing to alert police about a banned account linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar, who police say ​killed eight people in a ⁠school in February ⁠before taking her own life.

• In a letter ⁠dated ‌April 23, Altman said he was "deeply sorry" that law enforcement ⁠was not alerted to Van Rootselaar's ChatGPT ​account, which ‌had been banned in June.

• OpenAI ⁠had earlier ​said it had banned Van Rootselaar's account last year for policy violations, but the ⁠issues did not meet its ​internal criteria for reporting to law enforcement.

• Altman said he had spoken with Tumbler ⁠Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka and British Columbia Premier David Eby about the tragedy, describing the community's pain as "unimaginable."

• He said ​the company is committed to ⁠working with government officials to help prevent ​a similar tragedy from ‌happening again.

(Reporting by Shivani ​Tanna in Bengaluru and Mrinmay Dey in Mexico; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Others Also Read