The Aporia · Sydney man allegedly threatens to carry out mass shooting at childcare centre during conversation with AI chatbot

Sydney man allegedly threatens to carry out mass shooting at childcare centre during conversation with AI chatbot

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Rae, M. (2026, October 19). Sydney man allegedly threatens to carry out mass shooting at childcare centre during conversation with AI chatbot. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16219607/hurstville-man-ai-chatbot.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Quick Summary

David Lan Thackary, 29, was charged with threatening a mass shooting at a childcare center near Hurstville in Sydney after Interpol flagged his conversation with an AI chatbot named Claude. During the exchange, Thackray allegedly said he would shoot up a local daycare at Westfield shopping mall. Prosecutors argued that releasing him could lead to "catastrophic" consequences, while his lawyer claimed Thackary's comments were not serious and stemmed from stress over treating an ear infection with the AI technology.

Written by AI on 2026-10-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

David Lan Thackray, a 29-year-old man from Sydney, was remanded in custody for a mental health assessment after he allegedly discussed plans to carry out a mass shooting at a childcare center near his Hurstville home during conversations with an AI chatbot named Claude. Interpol flagged Thackray's interactions with the chatbot on Sunday morning, leading to his arrest and charge of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. Prosecutors argued that if released, he could pose a significant risk, citing his threat to "go down to the local Westfield right now and shoot up the local daycare." Thackray's lawyer claimed there was no weight behind his client’s comments, stating they were part of a stress-induced tirade while seeking help for an ear infection. The court heard that during conversations with Claude, Thackray referenced Naveed Akram, the alleged terrorist responsible for the recent attack in Bondi Beach.

Written for “Sydney Man Threatens Mass Shooting” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 38% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Sydney man allegedly discussed plans for childcare mass shooting with AI chatbot Same event

The Sydney Morning Herald

Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 61/100

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

38%

6 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

69/100

Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Maisy Rae

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 98 articles by Maisy Rae →

Narrative

Claims (16 extracted, 6 hedged)

A Sydney man has been charged after he allegedly threatened to carry out a mass shooting at a childcare centre during a conversation with a popular AI chatbot. uncertain

he → charge → chatbot

David Lan Thackray, 29, was arrested on Sunday morning after Interpol flagged his interactions with Claude, an AI-powered chatbot, which he allegedly told he planned to shoot several children at a childcare centre near his Hurstville home. uncertain

he → arrest → home

He has been charged with one count of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. asserted

He → charge → service

According to a police facts sheet tendered to Sutherland Local Court on Monday, Thackray allegedly told the chatbot he would 'go down to the local Westfield right now and shoot up the local daycare'. uncertain

he → accord → daycare

The court heard Thackray also referenced alleged Bondi Beach terrorist Naveed Akram during his conversation with the AI chatbot. asserted

Thackray → hear → chatbot

While arguing to keep Thackray behind bars, prosecutors said there would be a 'catastrophic' outcome if he was released and breached his bail conditions. asserted

he → argue → conditions

'What he intends to do is start murdering people in Sydney just like the alleged terrorist did in Bondi,' prosecutors told the court. asserted

prosecutors → intend → court

'We're understanding what's in his mind through his interactions with the chatbot.' asserted

what → understand → chatbot

A Sydney man has been charged after he allegedly threatened to carry out a mass shooting at a childcare centre during a conversation with AI chatbot Claude (stock image) uncertain

he → charge → Claude

David Lan Thackray allegedly told Claude he'd 'go down to the local Westfield right now and shoot up the local daycare' uncertain

he → tell → daycare

However Thackray's lawyer, Danilo Rajkovic, told the court 'there was no weight' behind his comments, and that his client had gone on a stress-induced tirade after trying to use the chatbot to help treat an ear infection. asserted

client → tell → infection

Mr Rajkovic said Thackray - who is believed to have used Claude’s voice mode - did not instruct the chatbot to issue threats to any person or organisation. asserted

who → say → person

He is believed to have been suspended from his Claude account. asserted

He → believe → account

Thackray, who has lived in Australia for over 17 years, is currently studying international relations and has no criminal history, according to Mr Rajkovic. uncertain

who → live → Rajkovic

Thackray is expected to return to court pending the outcome of a mental health assessment. asserted

Thackray → expect → assessment

Do you know more? asserted

you → know → more

Sydney man allegedly threatens to carry out mass shooting at childcare centre during conversation with AI chatbot

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Claims (16 extracted, 6 hedged)