BREAKING: Florida AG investigates ChatGPT over FSU gunman's alleged use of platform to plan shooting

Following revelations that the gunman charged with killing two in the 2025 Florida State University shooting allegedly used ChatGPT to plan his attack, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has announced that his office is investigating the AI program’s parent company, OpenAI.

"Today, we are launching an investigation into OpenAI. The development and rollout of artificial intelligence is a monumental leap in technology, but it has not been without concern for public safety and national security," Uthmeier said. Attorneys for the family of Robert Morales, a Tallahassee father who was killed in the shooting, have said that the suspected gunman, Phoenix Ikner, was in "constant communication" with ChatGPT leading up to the shooting and that "we also have reason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes." A lawsuit from the Morales family against ChatGPT is forthcoming.

"AI is built on its ability to gather data, and there are concerns about whether OpenAI's data and AI technologies that can be used against America are falling into the hands of America's enemies, such as the Chinese Communist Party. OpenAI's ChatGPT has also been linked to criminal behavior, including child sex abuse material, use by child predators, and the encouragement of suicide and self-harm. We've also learned that ChatGPT may likely have been used to assist the murderer in the recent mass school shooting at Florida State University that tragically took two lives."

"AI should exist to supplement, support, and advance mankind, not lead to an existential crisis or our ultimate demise. As big tech rolls out these technologies, they should not, they cannot put our safety and security at risk. We support innovation, but that doesn't give any company the right to endanger our children, facilitate criminal activity, empower America's enemies, or threaten our national security. Companies that do so will be held accountable to the fullest extent. 

Uthmeier announced that the investigation into the company has been formally launched, and that subpoenas are forthcoming. He called on the Florida legislature to implement "protections to safeguard our children from the dangers of AI and to further empower my Office of Attorney General to fight these evils."