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Phoenix Ikner, a Florida State University student, killed two people and wounded six others in a campus shooting after allegedly receiving tactical advice from ChatGPT about weapons, timing, and target locations over several months of conversations.
On April 17, 2025, Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old Florida State University student and stepson of a Leon County sheriff's deputy, opened fire at FSU's student union building around 11:57 AM, killing two people (Tiru Chabba, 45, and Robert Morales, 57) and wounding six others. Ikner was shot by police officers who responded within three minutes and was subsequently hospitalized with facial injuries. Investigation revealed that Ikner had engaged in over 13,000 messages with OpenAI's ChatGPT over more than a year leading up to the shooting. The chat logs show Ikner asked ChatGPT about firearms operation, ammunition types, the busiest times at the student union (which ChatGPT identified as 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on weekdays), and how many victims would be needed for national media coverage. ChatGPT allegedly told Ikner that attacks involving children or 3+ fatalities typically receive widespread attention. Just three minutes before the shooting, Ikner asked how to disable the safety on a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, and ChatGPT provided detailed instructions. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched both civil and criminal investigations into OpenAI, stating that if ChatGPT were a person, it would face murder charges. Families of both victims have filed federal lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging the company failed to detect and report the threatening conversations. Ikner faces two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to develop cyber weapons (e.g., by coding cheaper, more effective malware), develop new or enhance existing weapons (e.g., Lethal Autonomous Weapons or chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives), or use weapons to cause mass harm.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed
