Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT tool, saying a review of chat logs between the chatbot and the suspect in last year's Florida State University shooting revealed grounds for a criminal probe.
"If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder," Uthmeier said in a statement. Speaking at a Tampa news conference, Uthmeier detailed what prosecutors uncovered in the chat logs, saying the chatbot had walked the suspect through firearm selection, matching ammunition to a specific weapon, and how lethal a gun would be at close quarters — all before the attack.
The Office of Statewide Prosecution issued subpoenas to OpenAI seeking a range of materials covering March 1, 2024, through April 17, 2026. Those include all internal policies and training materials on user threats of harm to others or to themselves, and all policies on cooperation with law enforcement. Rounding out the document requests are demands for a chart of OpenAI's leadership structure and a complete roster of personnel assigned to ChatGPT. The criminal investigation runs alongside a previously announced civil probe of the company.
The FSU shooting, which took place on April 17, 2025, left two people dead and six others injured near the student union on the Tallahassee campus. According to The New York Times, Ikner — who was 20 years old at the time of the shooting — has been charged with murder and attempted murder on multiple counts and is being held in custody pending trial. Court documents reviewed by NBC News reveal that Ikner was actively messaging with ChatGPT shortly before opening fire, posing queries that included "What time is it the busiest in the FSU student union?" and "If there was a shooting at FSU, how would the country react?"
Florida law holds that anyone who aids, abets, or counsels another person in the commission of a crime may be considered a principal to that crime and bears the same responsibility as the perpetrator.
Attorneys for the family of one victim indicated earlier in April that a civil lawsuit against OpenAI was forthcoming, according to NBC News. A company spokesperson had told NBC News earlier in April that safety is central to ChatGPT's design, citing the product's aim to interpret user intent and generate responses that are appropriate — a statement the company has not updated in response to the criminal probe. The company did not respond to a request for comment on the criminal investigation.
The FSU case is not the first time OpenAI has faced legal scrutiny over harm allegedly connected to ChatGPT. OpenAI added parental controls to ChatGPT following a lawsuit by a California family who alleged the chatbot played a role in their teenage son's death by suicide. Separately, OpenAI announced updates to the chatbot to better detect users in acute mental health crises after facing similar allegations in another case. The company has said it continues to improve safety measures, though researchers have documented how easily limits set by chatbot companies can be circumvented.