Argentine authorities investigated a 15-year-old in Buenos Aires province after an FBI alert reportedly linked him to ChatGPT conversations describing plans for a school shooting targeting classmates in 2027.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Argentine federal authorities searched the home of a 15-year-old Thursday after an FBI alert reportedly linked the teenager to conversations with ChatGPT in which he discussed plans to carry out a school shooting and kill classmates.
The teenager lives in Quilmes, in Buenos Aires province, and allegedly contemplated carrying out the attack in 2027 while also discussing the possibility of moving the date forward, according to Clarín. Argentine authorities have withheld his identity because he is a minor.
The investigation began Aug. 19 after the FBI’s legal attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Argentina alerted local authorities to an email account associated with ChatGPT conversations in which the user allegedly expressed an intention to attack a school and kill fellow students.
Local reports did not specify how the FBI initially became aware of the conversations or whether OpenAI played any role in bringing them to authorities’ attention.
Investigators said the teenager also expressed interest in obtaining tactical clothing and equipment as part of the alleged plan.
After receiving the warning, the Argentine Federal Police’s anti-terrorism unit conducted digital and field investigations, including open-source intelligence techniques, to identify the person allegedly behind the account and determine where he lived.
Authorities eventually traced the activity to the teenager in Quilmes. A juvenile court subsequently authorized a search of his residence.
During Thursday’s operation, federal police seized two cellphones, two pairs of tactical gloves, a military-style camouflage hat, a skull-patterned balaclava, another military-style camouflage face covering and black tactical goggles. Video of the police operation was later shared by Clarín.
No firearms or ammunition were reported found in the home, according to Todo Noticias and other Argentine reports.
The seized phones are expected to undergo forensic analysis as investigators attempt to determine the full scope of the alleged planning and whether anyone else may have participated.
The teenager and his parents were summoned to appear before the Juvenile Criminal Prosecution Office handling the investigation. The case has been classified under the Spanish-language offense “intimidación pública,” or public intimidation, while authorities continue examining the evidence.
The case follows another FBI-assisted investigation involving alleged school attack plans in Argentina earlier this year.
According to Infobae, Argentine authorities in February investigated two teenagers, ages 15 and 16, after the FBI alerted law enforcement to social media activity containing antisemitic and white-supremacist messages along with references to possible attacks on schools.
That earlier investigation had begun after an FBI warning about online conversations and ultimately led Argentine federal investigators to identify teenagers in La Quiaca and Miramar. Searches in that case reportedly recovered electronic devices, ammunition, a hunting knife, Nazi-related materials and other evidence.
Details released following those February searches provided another example of cooperation between the FBI and Argentine authorities involving threats of mass violence communicated online.
In the latest case, authorities have not alleged that an attack was imminent, and no weapons were reported recovered during Thursday’s search. Investigators are now examining the teenager’s electronic devices to determine whether the reported conversations amounted to a concrete operational plan and whether additional people were involved.
For now, the investigation centers on the FBI alert, the teenager’s reported discussions with ChatGPT and the tactical items recovered from his home, with juvenile prosecutors continuing to evaluate the evidence.
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