By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-10-19 11:52:01 | Updated at 2026-10-19 21:07:24
9 hours ago
A man in Sydney was charged after he allegedly threatened to shoot up a childcare centre in the Australian city during an interaction with AI chatbot Claude.
David Lan Thackray, 29, was arrested on the morning of Oct 18 and charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend after his conversations with artificial intelligence chatbot Claude were flagged by Interpol, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Oct 19.
Thackray, who allegedly told Claude he planned to shoot several children at a childcare centre near his home in Hurstville in Sydney’s south, was remanded in custody on Oct 19 for a mental health assessment.
During his interactions with Claude, Thackray referenced Naveed Akram, who is accused of opening fire alongside his father on families celebrating the Jewish festival Hanukkah at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December 2025, killing 15 people.
Akram’s father, Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police at the scene, while Naveed is in custody and has been charged with multiple offences, including 15 counts of murder.
According to a police fact sheet tendered to Sutherland Local Court, Thackray allegedly told Claude that he would “go down to the local Westfield (shopping centre) right now and shoot up the local daycare”, the Herald reported.
Prosecutors argued to keep Thackray behind bars on Oct 19, saying there would be a “catastrophic” outcome if he was released and breached bail conditions imposed.
“What he intends to do is start murdering people in Sydney, just like the (alleged) terrorist did in Bondi,” prosecutors told the court in southern Sydney.
“We’re understanding what’s in his mind with his interactions with the chatbot.”
Thackray’s lawyer Danilo Rajkovic, however, argued that “there was no weight behind” the words of his client, claiming the interactions with Claude were a stress-induced diatribe after trying to use the chatbot to treat an ear infection.
He added that the accused is studying international relations, has no criminal record and has resided in Australia for over 17 years.
According to the Herald, Claude, which is developed by AI giant Anthropic, “is trained to refuse requests that involve planning or inciting violence” and “user data may be shared with law enforcement agencies” in certain emergency scenarios.
