A San Antonio man is in the Bexar County Jail after police say he described a planned shooting at a neighborhood elementary school in messages to an artificial-intelligence chatbot.
San Antonio police arrested Nathaniel Michael Carrasco, 22, on Sunday on a third-degree felony charge of making a terroristic threat, according to an arrest affidavit reported by the San Antonio Express-News and News 4 San Antonio.
He remained in jail Monday in lieu of $250,000 bail. No one was injured, and authorities have not said a weapon was used in an attack.
The affidavit says the FBI’s National Threat Operations Section alerted San Antonio police on Aug. 28 about threatening queries made Aug. 11 on an Anthropic AI chatbot. The messages came days before North East ISD students were set to start the school year. Investigators say Carrasco named Serna Elementary School, which sits next to his home near Loop 410 and Perrin Beitel Road.
News 4 reported that officers, working with federal authorities, used emergency disclosure requests to T-Mobile, Charter Communications and Google to tie the account to Carrasco’s phone number, IP address and home. He was then arrested on the state charge of terroristic threat causing public fear of serious bodily injury.
The case is a reminder that consumer chatbot sessions are not privileged like talks with a lawyer or doctor. Companies’ terms typically allow review of logs and reports to law enforcement when a user describes a planned act of violence. In this investigation, the FBI flag — not a parent or school tip — started the local case.
Carrasco is accused, not convicted. The charge will move through Bexar County courts. Officials have not released a statement from Carrasco. No official San Antonio Police Department or FBI San Antonio social post naming the arrest was readily available early Tuesday.
Parents with concerns about school safety are directed to campus administrators or police. Tips about threats can be made to local law enforcement or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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