{"id":2589091,"date":"2026-04-09T20:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawyer-claims-chatgpt-helped-alleged-attacker-plan-last-years-florida-state-shooting\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T20:19:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T00:19:02","slug":"lawyer-claims-chatgpt-helped-alleged-attacker-plan-last-years-florida-state-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawyer-claims-chatgpt-helped-alleged-attacker-plan-last-years-florida-state-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawyer Claims ChatGPT Helped Alleged Attacker Plan Last Year&#8217;s Florida State Shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flawyer-claims-chatgpt-helped-alleged-attacker-plan-last-years-florida-state-shooting%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2589091&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Attorneys for the family of a victim killed in the Florida State University shooting in April 2025 say they will file a lawsuit against OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT, alleging the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >artificial intelligence helped<\/a> the gunman plan and carry out the crimes. The shooter, Phoenix Ikner, is accused of killing two people and wounding six. The law firm Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster, Gwartney, and Hobbs told WCTV that Ikner was in constant communication with chatgpt in the lead-up to the attack and that ChatGPT may have advised him how to commit the crimes. They plan to sue ChatGPT and its ownership structure soon, seeking accountability for the death of their client, Robert Morales.<\/p>\n<p>OpenAI responded by saying it identified a chatgpt account believed to be associated with the suspect and cooperated with law enforcement. The company asserted it built ChatGPT to understand intent and respond safely, and to continually improve its technology.<\/p>\n<p>Morales\u2019 lawyers also sent a letter to the Leon County Sheriff\u2019s Office alleging that Ikner\u2019s participation in a Youth Advisory Council, were he reportedly learned about firearms, contributed to the murder, and criticized the Sheriff&#8217;s handling as part of the cause.<\/p>\n<p>the report notes this is not the first time ChatGPT has been cited in connection with crimes, referencing past incidents and other lawsuits where OpenAI has faced claims related to the platform and safety concerns.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Attorneys who represent one of the victims killed during a shooting at Florida State University last year said they plan to file a lawsuit against ChatGPT claiming the artificial intelligence bot assisted the gunman.<\/p>\n<p>The alleged shooter, Phoenix Ikner, has been accused of killing two people and wounding six others.<\/p>\n<p>The A.I. chatbot &ldquo;may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes,&rdquo; according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/calif-high-school-athletes-sue-for-right-to-play-indoor-sports\/\" title=\"Calif. high school athletes sue for right to play indoor sports\">law firm representing<\/a> the family of Robert Morales, who was killed during the attack back in April 2025.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have been advised that the shooter was in constant communication with ChatGPT leading up to the shooting,&rdquo; the law firm of Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster, Gwartney, and Hobbs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2026\/04\/06\/victims-attorney-claims-chatgpt-aided-florida-state-gunman-planning-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told WCTV<\/a> in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We also have reason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes,&rdquo; the statement continued. &ldquo;We will therefore file suit against ChatGPT, and its ownership structure, very soon, and will seek to hold them accountable for the untimely and senseless death of our client, Mr. Morales.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, said it &ldquo;identified a ChatGPT account believed to be associated with the suspect&rdquo; following the shooting, and &ldquo;proactively d this information with law enforcement and cooperated with authorities.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We built ChatGPT to understand people&rsquo;s intent and respond in a safe and appropriate way, and we continue improving our technology,&rdquo; the statement concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Morales&rsquo; lawyers also sent the Leon County Sheriff&rsquo;s office a letter back in September, stating that it too could be held liable, after Ikner was allowed to participate in LCSO&rsquo;s Youth Advisory Council, where he &ldquo;was allegedly taught about firearms and displayed behavior that should&rsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-family-business-dealings-raise-ethical-questions\/\" title=\"Biden family business dealings raise ethical questions\">ve raised concerns<\/a>,&rdquo; WCTV reported.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Mr. Ikner was not mentally stable and should not be around guns, much less taught how to use them,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wis-voter-id-loophole-raises-renewed-concerns\/\" title=\"WI&#039;s Voter ID &#039;Loophole&#039; Raises Renewed Concerns\">law firm&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s letter read. &ldquo;The Leon County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office&rsquo;s handling of Mr. Ikner, as described more fully herein, was at least part of the cause of the murder of Mr. Robert Morales.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This is not the first time ChatGPT has been highlighted following the commission of a crime.<\/p>\n<p>In June 2025, certain ChatGPT users who were relying on the service to deal with emotional issues were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/chatgpt-users-involuntarily-committed-going\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reportedly<\/a> committed to psychiatric institutions after developing an unhealthy fixation on the bot.<\/p>\n<p>In August 2025, the parents of a dead teenager in Orange County, California, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/lawsuit-parents-say-chatgpt-convinced-teen-end-life-ai-closest-confidant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filed a lawsuit<\/a> against OpenAI after ChatGPT allegedly encouraged the 16-year-old to commit suicide.<\/p>\n<p>And in March of this year, the parents of a girl who was critically wounded in a school shooting in Canada <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/chatgpt-parent-company-sued-alleged-foreknowledge-school-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alleged in a civil lawsuit<\/a> that OpenAI knew the shooter was planning a mass attack but didn&rsquo;t  the information with law enforcement.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attorneys for one of the victims of last year\u2019s Florida State University shooting say they plan to sue OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT, alleging the AI assisted the gunman. The suspect, Phoenix Ikner, is accused of killing two people and wounding six. The lawyers representing Robert Morales\u2019s family claim the AI chatbot may have advised Ikner on how to commit the crimes and that he was in frequent contact with ChatGPT in the period leading up to the attack. They say they will file suit against ChatGPT and its ownership structure soon to hold them responsible for Morales\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>OpenAI responded by saying it identified a ChatGPT account it believed was connected to the suspect after the shooting and cooperated with law enforcement. The company added that it built ChatGPT to understand people\u2019s intent and respond safely, and that it continues to improve the technology.<\/p>\n<p>Morales\u2019s lawyers also sent a letter to the Leon County Sheriff\u2019s Office in September, arguing that the sheriff\u2019s office\u2019s handling of Ikner-who was allowed to participate in the Youth Advisory Council and was reportedly taught about firearms-contributed to Morales\u2019s murder. The letter contends that Ikner was not mentally stable and should not have access to guns.<\/p>\n<p>The article notes this isn\u2019t the first time ChatGPT has been spotlighted after a crime, citing other cases in which the service was implicated or scrutinized, including disputes involving users with emotional issues and lawsuits alleging the AI encouraged harmful actions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2589092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-09T172820.163.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[77490,77489,14947,5113,69327],"class_list":["post-2589091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ai-assistance","tag-alleged-attacker-2","tag-chatgpt","tag-florida","tag-legal-case-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-09T172820.163.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2589091"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2589095,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589091\/revisions\/2589095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2589092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2589091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2589091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2589091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}