OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman issued a formal apology on April 24, 2026, regarding the company's failure to notify law enforcement about the online behavior of a user who later committed a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The letter, dated April 23 and released publicly by B.C. Premier David Eby on Friday, addresses OpenAI’s decision not to alert the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after the perpetrator’s account was flagged and banned for violating safety policies nearly eight months before the February 10 attack.
The shooting resulted in the deaths of eight people, including the shooter’s mother, Jennifer Jacobs, her 11-year-old stepbrother, Emmett Jacobs, five students, and a teaching assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. An additional 25 individuals were wounded in the incident. OpenAI had previously confirmed that its internal automated systems identified the account of 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025 for activity related to the furtherance of violent activities. However, human reviewers at the time determined that the content did not meet the company’s internal threshold for credible and imminent planning required to trigger a proactive report to law enforcement.
In the apology letter, Altman expressed his deepest condolences to the community of approximately 2,400 residents. Altman wrote that he was deeply sorry the company did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June. He acknowledged that while the company had identified problematic behavior, the failure to act contributed to the irreversible loss suffered by the community. Altman also reaffirmed a commitment made during a March meeting with Premier Eby and Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka to collaborate with government officials on developing new requirements for AI companies to disclose potential threats to authorities.
Premier Eby described the apology as necessary, and yet grossly insufficient for the families devastated by the tragedy. The provincial government has remained critical of OpenAI’s safety protocols, particularly after it was revealed that Van Rootselaar successfully created a second account to bypass the initial ban. OpenAI reportedly only became aware of the second account after the RCMP released the shooter's identity on February 11.
The apology comes as OpenAI faces a lawsuit in the B.C. Supreme Court filed by Cia Edmonds, whose daughter, Maya Gebala, sustained severe brain injuries during the shooting. The legal action alleges that OpenAI had specific knowledge of the shooter’s intent to plan a mass casualty event. In response to the tragedy, OpenAI Vice President of Global Policy Ann O’Leary stated that the company has since strengthened its safety protocols. O’Leary noted that under the current framework, the activity flagged in June 2025 would now result in an immediate referral to law enforcement.