Inside a Mass Shooter's Harrowing History With ChatGPT

On the morning of April 17, 2025, Phoenix Ikner was using ChatGPT to prepare. Over nearly three hours, the Florida State University student asked OpenAI's popular chatbot eight questions about firearms and 11 others about mass shootings—including how the media and public would react to a potential attack at FSU.

ChatGPT responded in detail each time and encouraged Ikner to keep chatting. When he uploaded images of shotgun shells and a Glock pistol, it confirmed the shells were "extremely lethal at close range" and said his Glock would be "quick to use under stress."

"So it dosent [sic] have a safety button, you shoot it fires," Ikner said.