April 25, 2026, 9:00 a.m04/25/2026, 09:37
Two and a half months after the fatal shooting at a school in Canada, OpenAI boss Sam Altman apologized for the fact that the ChatGPT operator did not inform security authorities about suspicious AI chats from the alleged perpetrator. “I am deeply sorry,” Altman wrote in a letter to residents of the town of Tumbler Ridge.
OpenAI boss Sam Altman.Image: keystone
The 18-year-old suspect is said to have killed eight people in the western Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge on February 10, six of them in a school. Among the victims were students, a teacher and the mother and stepbrother of the alleged shooter, who then killed herself.
ChatGPT account blocked
OpenAI blocked an account belonging to the alleged perpetrator last June after automated surveillance systems noticed scenarios involving gun violence that she had designed in conversations. However, the company did not consider it necessary to inform the authorities. After the crime, OpenAI discovered another ChatGPT account belonging to the alleged shooter.
Altman assured in the letter that OpenAI wants to find ways to prevent “such tragedies” in the future. The letter was published by the local news website “Tumbler RidgeLines”, OpenAI confirmed the authenticity of the document.
According to police, it was known that the suspect had psychological problems. According to investigators, she was registered male at birth. The transition to womanhood began years before the crime, it was said shortly after the fatal shots. (hkl/sda/dpa)