Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is investigating whether OpenAI is criminally responsible for the mass shooting at Florida State University last April, he announced Tuesday.
“If it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with murder,” Uthmeier said during a Tampa press conference. “Though we recognize that, with AI, we are venturing into uncharted territory, we need to know whether or not OpenAI has criminal liability.”
Uthmeier said his office is preparing criminal subpoenas for OpenAI, the corporation behind ChatGPT, to learn what the company’s red-flag reporting requirements were as the accused gunman, Phoenix Ikner, communicated with the bot between March 1, 2024, and April 17, 2025.
The first subpoena will seek information about which company personnel were involved in designing and enforcing internal policies, to help determine “what people knew,” Uthmeier said. The second is for all of Ikner’s ChatGPT account information.
READ MORE: It's the one-year anniversary of a shooting at FSU. How have lawmakers responded?
In the hours and minutes leading to the attack, Ikner had asked ChatGPT how to fire his guns, what was the busiest time on campus, how Florida punishes school shooters, and how many victims are required to gain media attention. The rampage left two dead and five wounded.
Uthmeier’s probe appears to be the first criminal investigation targeting OpenAI. It follows a civil lawsuit filed by a victim’s family alleging the AI system helped facilitate the attack.
The case raises a novel legal question: Can a company be held criminally liable if its software either generates information assisting an attack or fails to flag threatening behavior?
“Of course, ChatGPT is not a person,” Uthmeier said. “But that does not absolve our office, my prosecution team, of our duty to investigate whether or not there is criminal culpability here for a corporation. There’s nothing new about corporations being held liable for criminal conduct.”
The investigation comes amid a broiling political battle over artificial intelligence regulation. It has split Republicans, stranding the small sect of pro-regulation conservatives alongside a growing wave of voters who are wary of unfettered artificial intelligence.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been a top advocate for restraining AI in Florida. This drastically differs with President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, DeSantis’ likely successor to Florida’s top job.
Still, DeSantis’ office pushed for an “AI Bill of Rights” during the 2026 regular session, which the state Senate overwhelmingly approved. But the House, on orders from the White House, never scheduled the measure for a committee hearing.
DeSantis has since called for a special session next week that, among other things, will revive the proposal. This comes despite continued skepticism from House Speaker Danny Perez, a Miami Republican who’s long feuded with the governor.
What were in those chatlogs?
According to more than 13,000 messages reviewed and previously reported by the Phoenix, Ikner frequently used ChatGPT as both a confidant and a coach for apparent self-esteem problems in the year leading to the shootings.
This included continuously uploading images of himself and his outfits to ask the bot if he was “fat” or “ugly,” and to have it advise him on how to lose weight. He told the bot on multiple occasions about feeling unwanted and worthless, even confessing the night before the attack that he believed God had left him behind and questioning whether suicide is a sin.
Some exchanges included explicit sexual content, with the chatbot engaging in graphic discussions before stopping when Ikner mentioned pregnancy.
But the most concerning communication happened on the day of the shooting.
“If there was a shooting at FSU, how would the country react?” Ikner asked shortly after 9 a.m., about two hours before the attack.
He later asked how many victims typically generate national media coverage.
“Three or more people killed (excluding the shooter) is often the unofficial bar for widespread national media attention,” the chatbot responded.
In subsequent exchanges, the bot provided information about firearms, including how to operate a shotgun and a handgun; the busiest time at the student union; and details about weapon safety systems.
Ikner’s final request came three minutes before the shooting.
“What button is the safety off for the Remington 12 gauge?” he asked.
The AI provided detailed instructions.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
