Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on April 22, 2026, that the state has launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT service over a deadly April 2025 shooting at Florida State University that left two people dead and six wounded.
The suspect in the campus attack was shot by officers and hospitalized; he has been charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder. Uthmeier said in a press briefing that investigators believe the shooter used ChatGPT, and that the chatbot “advised the shooter on what type of gun to use, on which ammo went with which gun, on whether or not a gun would be useful at short range.” He added, “If it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with murder.”
Uthmeier’s office said the inquiry will determine whether OpenAI can bear criminal responsibility for ChatGPT’s role in the incident. The Office of Statewide Prosecution has issued a subpoena seeking information and records from the company, the attorney general’s office said.
An OpenAI spokeswoman told U.S. media the shooting was a tragedy but the company was not responsible. She said OpenAI identified a ChatGPT account believed to be associated with the suspect and “proactively shared this information with law enforcement.” She added that the model provided factual responses that reflected information available across public internet sources and did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity.
The investigation comes amid broader public and regulatory concern about artificial intelligence — from its energy and economic impacts to fears it could be used to facilitate fraud, disrupt democratic processes, displace workers, or help plan criminal acts.
