About a week after the shooting in Tumbler Ridge, it came to light that OpenAI, the company that runs ChatGPT had cancelled Jesse Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Van Rootselaar had been searching for scenarios that some employees interpreted as “an indication of potential real-world violence.”
The WSJ says “while using ChatGPT last June, Van Rootselaar described scenarios involving gun violence over the course of several days, according to people familiar with the matter.”
This led to the company suspending the account, but employees also urged the company to report the incident to the RCMP.
They didn’t.
Now, the company is being questioned for its role in the shooting.
After the shooting took place, the company reached out to the RCMP to report Van Rootselaar’s activity to law enforcement, but questions are being raised about why the company didn’t come forward sooner.
“After disturbing reports that warning signs on OpenAI’s platform were not escalated promptly, senior OpenAI leaders came to Ottawa at my request,” says Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon.
Also in attendance were the Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Sean Fraser, and the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and the Minister responsible for Official Languages, Marc Miller.
The MPs met with them to discuss safety protocols, escalation processes, and how the company operates in the Canadian context.
“We made it clear that Canadians expect credible warning signs of serious violence to be escalated in a timely and responsible way. Internal review alone is not sufficient when public safety is at stake,” says Solomon.
The ministers also discussed how “imminent and credible risk” is identified, how cases move from automated detection to human review, and how referrals are handled — particularly when young people may be involved.
They did not discuss details of the case, as it remains an ongoing police investigation, but, says Solomon, “we expressed our disappointment that no substantial new safety measures were presented at this time. OpenAI indicated they will return shortly with more concrete proposals tailored to the Canadian context. They also confirmed their cooperation with the RCMP.”
This is just the first step, says Solomon, saying they will continue the discussions in the future.
Provincially, Premier David Eby says reports that allege OpenAI had related intelligence before the shootings in Tumbler Ridge took place are “profoundly disturbing for the victims’ families and all British Columbians.
“The pain that these families have gone through is unimaginable.”
In a recent interview with CBC, Eby has gone farther, saying that he is “angry”, though he is trying hard not to rush to judgment. Still, “from the outside, it looks like OpenAI had the opportunity to prevent this tragedy, to prevent this horrific loss of life, to prevent there from being dead children in British Columbia.”
He says the province will “use all powers of government to ensure that police have the tools they need to investigate every aspect of this horrific tragedy.”
According to OpenAI, the level of threat presented by Van Rootselaar’s account didn’t meet the threshold required to refer the account to law enforcement. They say that having police show up at a young person’s door can also be distressing for a young person and their family.
Both YouTube and Roblox removed Van Rootselaar’s accounts.
“Following this horrific incident, our Trust and Safety teams identified and removed a YouTube channel associated with the alleged suspect in accordance with our Creator Responsibility Guidelines,” YouTube said. Meanwhile, Roblox released a statement saying “We have removed the user account connected to this horrifying incident as well as any content associated with the suspect. We are committed to fully supporting law enforcement in their investigation.”
Solomon says the government will continue to engage not only with generative AI developers, but with digital platforms more broadly, to ensure safety expectations for Canadians are met. “We are reviewing broader measures to ensure that AI systems and platforms operating in Canada have clear standards and accountability. We will have more to say on this work in the coming weeks. Public safety will always come first for this government.”
OpenAI has since discovered that Van Rootselaar had set up a second account, which was “flagged to police.”
And, while the account was not initially reported, OpenAI says its safety policies have since changed, and under current guidelines the banned account would likely be referred to police. The updated protocol allows the company to alert authorities even when a user does not clearly state a target, timeline, or plan, if experts believe there may be a risk of violence.
There is growing calls for new regulations on AI companies, something that Solomon says Ottawa is considering, including rules that would require companies to report concerns like this to law enforcement.
OpenAI says it is working with Canadian officials and has committed to stronger detection systems, closer cooperation with law enforcement, and new procedures for handling high-risk cases as the federal government reviews whether new laws are needed in the wake of the shooting.
“We acknowledge the new commitments OpenAI has outlined,” says Solomon. “While we note their willingness to strengthen law enforcement referral protocols, establish direct points of contact with Canadian authorities, and enhance safeguards, we have not yet seen a detailed plan for how these commitments will be implemented in practice.
“The tragedy in Tumbler Ridge has raised serious questions about how digital platforms respond when credible warning signs of violence emerge. Canadians deserve greater clarity about how human review decisions are made.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
