An 18-year-old individual, implicated in the alleged killing of eight people during a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, Canada, reportedly utilized OpenAI’s ChatGPT in ways that raised significant alarm among the company's personnel.
Jesse Van Rootselaar’s online conversations, which included descriptions of gun violence, were detected and flagged by internal tools monitoring the company’s large language model (LLM) for misuse, leading to her account being banned in June 2025.
According to the Wall Street Journal, staff at OpenAI debated whether to report the concerning behavior to Canadian law enforcement but ultimately decided against it. An OpenAI spokesperson later stated that Van Rootselaar’s activity did not meet the company's criteria for reporting to law enforcement at the time. However, the company did reach out to Canadian authorities following the tragic incident.
The ChatGPT transcripts were not the sole disturbing aspect of Van Rootselaar’s digital footprint. She reportedly developed a game on Roblox, the popular world simulation platform frequented by children, which simulated a mass shooting within a mall setting. Furthermore, she posted content related to firearms on Reddit.
Van Rootselaar’s instability was also known to local police, who had previously been called to her family’s home after she initiated a fire while under the influence of unspecified drugs.
LLM chatbots developed by OpenAI and its competitors have faced accusations of triggering mental breakdowns in users who reportedly lose their grasp on reality during extended conversations with these digital models. Multiple lawsuits have been filed, citing chat transcripts that allegedly encourage individuals to commit suicide or offer assistance in doing so.
If you are experiencing a crisis or having thoughts of suicide, please call or text 988 to connect with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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