What does ChatGPT know about Jesse Van Rootselaar? I tried to find out

WATCH how the chatbot answered questions about the Feb. 10 Tumbler Ridge tragedy.

So many unanswered questions about the role of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot in Jesse Van Rootselaar’s Feb. 10 shooting rampage in Tumbler Ridge that killed eight innocents.

The company closed the troubled teenager’s account in June 2025, but didn’t feel the content was bad enough to tell police — until after the shooting, which also injured 27. Later, it admitted the killer opened a second account.

We still don’t know what Van Rootselaar asked ChatGPT and how it answered.

To gauge how the company is handling the scrutiny, that is one of the questions I asked ChatGPT.

First off, I asked: “What happened in Tumbler Ridge?”

“Here’s what’s been reported about what happened in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Latest on the Tumbler Ridge tragedy in British Columbia.”

Links to an EnergeticCity story on UFC honouring Maya Gebala, who is fighting for her life in B.C. Children’s Hospital, a Global story on OpenAI committing to improvements and an AM1150 story about Peace River South Conservative MLA Larry Neufeld’s call for a public inquiry or Coroner’s inquest.

Then, as fast as it appeared, it disappeared. Replaced by a disclaimer: ‘This content couldn’t be shown for safety reasons.”

Then I asked: “What happened on February 10th in Tumbler Ridge?”

“Here’s a clear summary of what happened on February 10, 2026 in Tumbler Ridge.”

It showed a timeline of the incident, citing Wikipedia.

Then it disappeared. “This content couldn’t be shown for safety reasons.”

Over the course of several minutes, ChatGPT told me it was not “hiding secrets” about Van Rootselaar’s questions. First it claimed Van Rootselaar had one account, but then admitted there was a second.

“We do not know — nor has anything trustworthy reporting published — the specific name or handle she used. That information remains private for privacy and legal reasons.”

Watch my interaction with ChatGPT below.

Eby on the spot

During Question Period on Feb. 26, Neufeld asked Premier David Eby to commit to a public inquiry or Coroner’s inquest, and for a timeline of when either would begin.

Eby said one would happen, but it relies on completion of the RCMP investigation.

“I understand the police are investigating, for example, the origin of the guns that were used in this tragedy,” Eby said. “We support the police to take the steps necessary to do the work necessary to answer those questions and potentially through the criminal process. Immediately following that is when any public inquiries or inquests would take place.”

Neufeld said an inquiry must not only examine the role of online platforms (like ChatGPT), but Van Rootselaar’s “prior points of contact and information sharing between agencies and institutions.”

For instance, what did the Peace River South School District, Northern Health Authority and Ministry of Children and Family Development know and when did they know?

Any action or inaction by the Eby government could come under the microscope.