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Warning: This article contains discussion of gun violence, which some readers may find distressing.
Following the tragedy at British Columbia's Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, more details about the alleged shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, have started to emerge. The February 10 shooting left nine dead and 27 injured, with seven (including Van Rootselaar) shot dead at the school, and the bodies of the suspect's mother and 11-year-old half-brother found at their nearby home.
A YouTube channel associated with Jesse Van Rootselaar had already been revealed, although just a single video remained. That was said to include the transgender flag and listed Van Rootselaar's pronouns as 'she/her', while the channel name was changed from 'JesseBoy' to 'JessJessUwU'.
It's thought that Van Rootselaar started to transition around 2020, eventually dropping out of school and going by the name of Jess at the time of the shooting.
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Now, OpenAI has confirmed that a ChatGPT account linked to Van Rootselaar was banned in June 2025. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, an account associated with Jesse Van Rootselaar was flagged for describing scenarios that involved gun violence.
After these were highlighted by ChatGPT's automated review system, around a dozen OpenAI employees are said to have debated on how to proceed. Some apparently saw the posts as a precursor to potential real-world violence and told those above to contact Canadian law enforcement.
Those familiar with the situation say that OpenAI leaders decided not to act on these posts other than banning the account.
An OpenAI spokeswoman reiterated that even though Van Rootselaar’s account was banned for abuse and enforcement detection, the activity didn’t hit the threshold for being reported to law enforcement. This would've required a credible and imminent risk that serious physical harm could occur.
After the Royal Canadian Mounted Police identified Van Rootselaar's body as the suspect, OpenAI reached out to the RCMP to support its investigation. The spokeswoman added: "Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the Tumbler Ridge tragedy."
OpenAI maintains that it trains models to discourage users from committing harm in the real world, trying to divert any conversations mentioning this to human reviewers. The artificial intelligence giant explained how it has to weigh the risk of violence against privacy concerns, as well as the potential distress caused to users and their loved ones if the authorities are unnecessarily contacted.
The outlet concluded that Van Rootselaar was already known to local police, with previous visits amid mental health concerns and guns temporarily being removed from the residence.
In the aftermath of the shooting, RCMP Commissioner Dwayne McDonald confirmed that specialized teams have been combing through the suspect's digital footprint, as well as reviewing past interactions with the police and mental health professionals.
In particular, there are mentions of a picture where Van Rootselaar posed at a shooting range, as well as supposedly creating a bullet cartridge with a 3-D printer, and an online discussion about YouTube videos that have been made by gun enthusiasts.
If you or someone you know has been affected by gun violence, please find more information and support via Survivors Empowered on their website.
