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A man kills people using ChatGPT’s answers. The theater of holding the chatbot liable for crime
Authorities blame the search bar along with the shooter.
A 20-year-old former Florida State University student named Phoenix Ikner killed two university employees and wounded six others in April 2025. Law enforcement confronted him roughly four minutes after the first shots were fired. When he did not comply with orders, an officer shot him in the jaw, ending the rampage.
Ikner now faces the consequences of his actions. Investigators have since discovered that the suspect had disturbing conversations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT prior to the crime, asking the chatbot details about Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and its “opinion” on how the country would react to a similar shooting spree at FSU.
Ikner also inquired what weapon and ammo to use, and where to find the largest crowds to kill on the university’s campus. Moments before the shooting, he even asked the chatbot how to handle the safety switch on his firearm.
Based on this evidence, Florida’s attorney general James Uthmeier has also opened a criminal probe into OpenAI, the company which owns and operates ChatGPT.
These are the facts. Here comes the question: why should OpenAI be held…
