OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ‘deeply sorry’ over Tumbler Ridge shooting
Posted April 24, 2026 2:23 pm.
Last Updated April 24, 2026 2:41 pm.
The head of OpenAI says he is deeply sorry that his company didn’t alert law enforcement to worrisome online behavior of the person in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., before she shot and killed eight people earlier this year.
Sam Altman says in a letter shared on B.C. Premier David Eby’s social media that while he knows words can never be enough, he believes “an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreplaceable loss the community has suffered.”
He says the pain the community has endured is unimaginable and he has been thinking about those in Tumbler Ridge often.
OpenAI came forward after the shooting on Feb. 10 to say that 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar’s worrisome behaviour using its ChatGPT chatbot was flagged by staff at the company, but it didn’t go to police with those concerns.
Altman’s letter relays his deepest condolences to the community, saying “no one should ever have to ensure a tragedy like this.”
Premier David Eby says in a social media post that Altman’s letter to the community is necessary, and yet grossly insufficient for the devastation done to the families of Tumbler Ridge.
