{"id":220684,"date":"2026-04-06T15:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220684\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:55:08","slug":"victims-attorney-claims-chatgpt-aided-accused-florida-state-gunman-in-planning-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220684\/","title":{"rendered":"Victim\u2019s attorney claims ChatGPT aided accused Florida State gunman in planning shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text | article-text\">TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) &#8211; Attorneys for one of the victims killed on Florida State University\u2019s campus nearly a year ago plan to file a lawsuit against ChatGPT, claiming the suspected gunman had \u201cconstant communication\u201d with the AI chatbot before the shooting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/06\/20\/pursuing-justice-tallahassee-law-firm-represent-family-fsu-shooting-victim-robert-morales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/06\/20\/pursuing-justice-tallahassee-law-firm-represent-family-fsu-shooting-victim-robert-morales\/\">The law firm of Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster, Gwartney and Hobbs<\/a> is representing the family of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/05\/06\/tallahassee-man-killed-fsu-shooting-remembered-quiet-brilliance-kindness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/05\/06\/tallahassee-man-killed-fsu-shooting-remembered-quiet-brilliance-kindness\/\">Robert Morales<\/a>, a Tallahassee resident who lost his life after accused FSU shooter Phoenix Ikner opened fire on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/news\/fatal-fsu-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/news\/fatal-fsu-shooting\/\">FSU\u2019s campus on April 17<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Morales was one of two victims who died in the shooting. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/05\/01\/gofundme-support-surges-fsu-shooting-victims-robert-morales-tiru-chabba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/05\/01\/gofundme-support-surges-fsu-shooting-victims-robert-morales-tiru-chabba\/\">Tiru Chabba<\/a>, a South Carolina father, also lost his life.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid mx-auto d-block\" alt=\"Tiru Chabba (left) and Robert Morales (right) were identified as two men killed in the fatal...\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/XP7FAZWE3NDVTEQFBMGJ3B2ONE.png\" width=\"980\" height=\"551\" \/>Tiru Chabba (left) and Robert Morales (right) were identified as two men killed in the fatal shooting at Florida State University.(Stewart Moore on X and CBS Miami\/The Strom Law Firm)<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">In a statement sent to WCTV Monday morning, Ryan Hobbs and Dean LeBoeuf with the local law firm said that they \u201chave reason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-2\">\u201cWe have been advised that the shooter was in constant communication with ChatGPT leading up to the shooting.  We also have reason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes.  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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The expected lawsuit comes just a month after prosecutors announced that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2026\/03\/04\/change-judges-could-delay-trial-man-charged-with-fsu-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2026\/03\/04\/change-judges-could-delay-trial-man-charged-with-fsu-shooting\/\">a change in judges could delay<\/a> the upcoming trial of the 21-year-old, which was expected to take place October 19.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">WCTV also obtained the law firm\u2019s letter dated September 9, 2025 that was sent to the Leon County Sheriff\u2019s Office. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">At that time, the letter alleged that the sheriff\u2019s office could be liable because Ikner, who was also identified as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/04\/18\/lcso-deputy-takes-leave-after-step-son-connected-fsu-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/04\/18\/lcso-deputy-takes-leave-after-step-son-connected-fsu-shooting\/\">stepson of LCSO Deputy Jessica Ikner<\/a>, was allowed to participate and lead LCSO\u2019s Youth Advisory Council, was allegedly taught about and around firearms and displayed behavior that should\u2019ve raised concerns. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cMr. Ikner was not mentally stable and should not be around guns, much less taught how to use them,\u201d the law firm wrote in its letter to LCSO. \u201cThe Leon County Sheriff\u2019s Office\u2019s handling of Mr. Ikner, as described more fully herein, was at least part of the cause of the murder of Mr. Robert Morales.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Furthermore, the letter alleges negligence by Deputy Jessica Ikner for allegedly allowing and encouraging access to weapons, including a retired service weapon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">WCTV has reached out to the sheriff\u2019s office for a statement and is waiting to hear back. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Ikner is accused of killing two people and injuring several others after he allegedly opened fire at FSU\u2019s Student Union on April 17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Nearly two months after the shooting happened, the state filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/06\/05\/state-files-notice-intent-seek-death-penalty-suspected-fsu-campus-shooter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2025\/06\/05\/state-files-notice-intent-seek-death-penalty-suspected-fsu-campus-shooter\/\">notice of intent to seek the death penalty<\/a> against Ikner. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WCTV.tv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wctvnews\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WCTVEyewitnessNews\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/nextdoor.com\/page\/wctv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/nextdoor.com\/page\/wctv\/\" target=\"_blank\">Nextdoor<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/nextdoor.com\/page\/wctv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/nextdoor.com\/page\/wctv\/\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WCTV\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">X<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WCTV\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Have a news tip or see an error? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2026\/04\/06\/victims-attorney-claims-chatgpt-aided-florida-state-gunman-planning-shooting\/mailto:news@wctv.tv?subject=Correction%20Needed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wctv.tv\/2024\/12\/18\/download-free-wctv-mobile-streaming-apps-today\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright |\">Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) &#8211; Attorneys for one of the victims killed on Florida State University\u2019s campus nearly a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[100041,100047,100048,1721,89995,100050,19432,1422,17876,3603,100040,100046,15992,100044,833,100045,30105,100042,100043,43476,232,234,233,100049,100051,6411,1549],"class_list":{"0":"post-220684","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-accused-campus-shooter","9":"tag-april-17","10":"tag-campus-shooting","11":"tag-capital-city","12":"tag-chatgpt","13":"tag-constant-communication","14":"tag-deadly","15":"tag-florida-state-university","16":"tag-foster","17":"tag-fsu","18":"tag-gunman","19":"tag-gwartney-and-hobbs","20":"tag-law-firm","21":"tag-law-firm-of-brooks","22":"tag-lawsuit","23":"tag-leboeuf","24":"tag-phoenix-ikner","25":"tag-planning-shooting","26":"tag-robert-morales","27":"tag-suspected","28":"tag-tallahassee","29":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","30":"tag-tallahassee-news","31":"tag-tiru-chabba","32":"tag-trial-delay","33":"tag-victim","34":"tag-wctv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}