Canada’s artificial intelligence minister has summoned representatives from OpenAI after the company suspended the account of a school shooter last year without notifying police. Evan Solomon said he was “deeply disturbed” by reports that the tech giant failed to alert Canadian law enforcement about Jesse Van Rootselaar, who killed eight people in the town of Tumbler Ridge in February.
The 18-year-old perpetrator had described violent scenarios involving guns to ChatGPT over several days in June 2025, leading to an automated suspension of her account for “furtherance of violent activities”. However, OpenAI said it did not consider the activity to identify “credible or imminent planning”, and therefore did not contact authorities. The company only reached out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after the shooting.
Solomon told reporters he expected the company’s top safety representatives to explain their protocols for escalating cases to law enforcement during a meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Ottawa. “They will come here, and we will have a sit-down meeting to have an explanation of their safety protocols and when they escalate and their thresholds of escalation to police,” he said.
British Columbia’s premier, David Eby, described the revelations as “profoundly disturbing” for the victims’ families. He confirmed that a representative from OpenAI met with officials the day after the shooting but did not disclose the earlier account suspension. The company later sought help from the province to contact the police.
Van Rootselaar killed five students aged 12 to 13, a teaching assistant, and her mother and half-brother before attacking the school. She also used the game Roblox to create a virtual environment featuring weapons in advance of the attack. Canada’s federal government is currently considering how to regulate the use of AI chatbots, including their use by minors.
