Chatbot under criminal investigation in connection with mass shooting at Florida State University

Published: 02:16, 22 April 2026 | Updated: 02:16, 22 April 2026 Florida prosecutors are expanding their investigation into OpenAI after its ChatGPT tool allegedly gave advice to the gunman behind the mass shooting at Florida State University last year. State Attorney General James Uthmeier announced in a press conference on Tuesday that his office was issuing subpoenas to the company after the alleged shooter, Phoenix Ikner, was given 'significant advice' by their chatbot. Ikner consulted with ChatGPT about the kind of firearm to use and questions about ammunition, as well as whether or not a type of gun would be useful at short range, according to Uthmeier. The attorney general added that the chatbot also advised the alleged shooter about where the largest concentration of people would be on campus and the appropriate time to commit the atrocity. 'My prosecutors have looked at this and have told me if this were a person on the other end of the screen, we would be charging them with murder,' Uthmeier said. The attorney general noted that his office is pursuing both criminal and civil investigations into OpenAI, not only in connection to the shooting but also for alleged child sex abuse material and the encouragement of self-harm. 'Just because this is a chatbot in AI does not mean that there is no criminal culpability,' Uthmeier said at the press conference. 'So, we are going to look at who knew what, designed what, or should have done what. And if it is clear that individuals knew that this type of dangerous behavior might take place, that these types of unfortunate, tragic events might take place, and nevertheless still turned to profits, still allowed this business to operate, then people need to be held accountable.' The attorney general, James Uthmeier, announced in a press conference on Tuesday that his office was issuing subpoenas to OpenAI State prosecutors are expanding their investigation into OpenAI after its ChatGPT tool allegedly gave advice to Phoenix Ikner, the alleged gunman behind the mass shooting at Florida State University last year However, while OpenAI is working with officials, the company has denied any responsibility for the tragedy in a statement. 'Last year's mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,' the statement said. 'In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity.' Uthmeier's office ordered OpenAI to produce records of policies and training materials related to users threatening harm to themselves or others. He is also interested in how the company responded to the shooting, which left two people dead and six others injured. Ikner, who was a 20-year-old student at FSU during the time of the shooting on April 17, 2025, faces several murder charges as well as attempted murder and is awaiting trial in jail. He was arrested on the day of the massacre after being shot by police for allegedly refusing their commands. Uthmeier claimed ChatGPT issued advice to the alleged shooter about the kind of firearm to use and questions about ammunition, as well as whether or not a type of gun would be useful at short range The shooting at the campus in April of 2025 left two people dead and six others injured  Ikner, who was a 20-year-old student at FSU during the time of the shooting on April 17, 2025, faces several murder charges as well as attempted murder and is awaiting trial in jail According to court documents cited by NBC News, Ikner, who is now 21 years old, asked ChatGPT questions minutes before the shooting, such as: 'What time is it the busiest in the FSU student union?' and 'If there was a shooting at FSU, how would the country react?' A family of one of the victims implied that they would take OpenAI to court following the information that the alleged shooter was advised by the chatbot. 'We have been advised that the shooter was in constant communication with ChatGPT leading up to the shooting,' said Ryan Hobbs, an attorney for the family of Robert Morales, who was killed. 'We also have reason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes. We will therefore file suit against ChatGPT and its ownership structure very soon.' Morales was the Florida State University dining manager, and his visiting supervisor, Tiru Chabba, was also killed when Ikner allegedly opened fire on the campus. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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