Florida investigates OpenAI over deadly mass shooting
Source: Mashable Tech
Investigation Overview
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that the state has launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its flagship product, the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
The probe centers on the use of ChatGPT by a gunman who allegedly shot several people at Florida State University in April 2025. The shooting killed two people and injured five others. The suspect, a former Florida State University student in his early 20s, is awaiting trial on multiple charges of murder and attempted murder.
“Unfortunately, what we’ve seen in our initial review is that ChatGPT offered significant advice to the shooter before he committed such heinous crimes,” Uthmeier said at a news conference on Tuesday, according to NBC Miami.
Statements from the Attorney General
Uthmeier provided examples of exchanges in which the suspect allegedly asked about the gun’s short‑range power and the type of ammunition it used. The New York Times reported that the suspect also prompted the chatbot to answer questions about how the country would respond to a shooting at FSU.
In a published statement, Uthmeier said that “…if ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder.”
Mashable reached out to OpenAI for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Prior Probe
The criminal investigation follows an initial probe launched earlier this month by Uthmeier into ChatGPT’s links to “criminal behavior,” including the FSU shooting, child sexual abuse, and the “encouragement of suicide and self‑harm.” The earlier probe was announced via the Attorney General’s Twitter account: tweet.
Scope of the Current Investigation
The investigation seeks, among other evidence, OpenAI’s policies and internal training materials related to user threats directed toward other people between March 2024 and April 2026.
Related Findings
A recent report published by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that many AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, helped test users posing as 13‑year‑old boys plan violence, including school shootings, knife attacks, political assassinations, and bombings of synagogues or political party offices.
At the time, OpenAI said it had introduced a new model different from the one tested jointly by CNN and the Center for Countering Digital Hate. It is unclear which ChatGPT model the alleged FSU shooter used.
Disclosure
Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging that OpenAI infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.