TORONTO, Canada: OpenAI said it had considered alerting Canadian police last year about a user account later linked to one of the deadliest school shootings in Canada's recent history.

The San Francisco-based company said it identified the ChatGPT account of Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025 through its abuse detection systems for the "furtherance of violent activities."

OpenAI said it weighed referring the account to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but, at the time, determined that the activity did not meet its threshold for notifying law enforcement. The company said it banned the account in June 2025 for violating its usage policy.

The 18-year-old killed eight people in a remote part of British Columbia last week before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to OpenAI, its policy requires a case to involve an imminent and credible risk of serious physical harm before it is referred to law enforcement. The company said it did not detect evidence of credible or imminent planning. The disclosure was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

After learning of the shooting, OpenAI employees contacted the RCMP and shared information about the suspect's use of ChatGPT.

"Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the Tumbler Ridge tragedy. We proactively reached out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with information on the individual and their use of ChatGPT, and we'll continue to support their investigation," an OpenAI spokesperson said.

RCMP Staff Sergeant Kris Clark confirmed in an emailed statement that OpenAI contacted authorities following the shootings.

Clark said investigators are conducting a "thorough review of the content on electronic devices, as well as social media and online activities" connected to Van Rootselaar. He added that "digital and physical evidence is being collected, prioritized, and methodically processed."

Police said Van Rootselaar first killed her mother and stepbrother at the family home before attacking a nearby school. She had prior mental health-related contacts with police, according to the RCMP.

Authorities have not yet determined a motive.

The attack occurred in Tumbler Ridge, a town of about 2,700 residents in the Canadian Rockies, more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) northeast of Vancouver near the Alberta border. Victims included a 39-year-old teaching assistant and five students aged 12 to 13.

The shooting marked Canada's deadliest rampage since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left nine others dead.