OpenAI says Tumbler Ridge shooter evaded ban with second ChatGPT account

SAN FRANCISCO — Artificial intelligence firm OpenAI says the shooter involved in mass killings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., got around a ban on her problematic use of ChatGPT by having a second account.

The revelation came as the firm outlined a series of “immediate steps” it would be taking in response to the killings.

OpenAI vice-president for global policy Ann O’Leary says the company only discovered the second account after Jesse Van Rootselaar’s name was announced by RCMP.

She says the shooter who killed eight people and then herself on Feb. 10 somehow evaded systems to prevent banned users from creating new accounts, and Van Rootselaar’s second account was shared with law enforcement upon its discovery

The letter to federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says OpenAI commits to strengthening its detection systems to better prevent attempts to evade its safeguards and “prioritize identifying the highest risk offenders.”

O’Leary says the firm will also strengthen protocols about contacting police “when conversations cross the line into an imminent and credible risk,” and it will develop a direct point of contact with Canadian law enforcement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.