Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced in April 2026 that his office opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI after reviewing chat logs between ChatGPT and Phoenix Ikner, the Florida State University student accused of killing two people and wounding several others in a campus shooting in April 2025. Uthmeier said his team found that ChatGPT gave the alleged shooter detailed responses about firearm lethality and short-range effectiveness.
According to chat logs released by the Florida State Attorney's Office, Ikner asked the chatbot about the lethality of specific shotgun shells, whether school shooters are sent to maximum security prisons, and whether the number of victims would attract media coverage. He also asked the bot about peak foot traffic at the FSU student union, the location where the shooting later took place.
Uthmeier's office has issued subpoenas to OpenAI requesting the company's internal policies and training materials covering how the system responds when users signal intent to harm themselves or others, along with its procedures for reporting potential crimes to law enforcement.
OpenAI said in a statement that it identified an account associated with Ikner and shared it with investigators. The company said ChatGPT did not encourage or promote illegal activity and that its responses reflected information available through public sources. Ikner has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first degree murder and seven counts of attempted first degree murder. His trial is scheduled to begin in October 2026.