- British Columbia sued OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge school shooting.
- OpenAI allegedly ignored safety team’s police alert recommendations.
- Province seeks damages, safety changes; nine people died.
- Families and other lawsuits also challenge OpenAI’s safety.
The Canadian province of British Columbia has sued OpenAI in a California federal court, alleging that the February school shooting in Tumbler Ridge could have been prevented if the company had alerted local law enforcement after its safety team flagged the shooter’s conversations on ChatGPT, according to Reuters.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco on Monday, names OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman as defendants. British Columbia is seeking damages to cover the costs it has incurred and expects to incur in responding to the attack, as well as an order requiring changes to how OpenAI handles ChatGPT conversations that could lead to violence.
Nine people, most of them children, were killed in the February 10 attack at a school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, later died by suicide. According to the lawsuit, she had allegedly used ChatGPT to plan the attack.
Lawsuit Alleges OpenAI Did Not Alert Police
The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI’s safety team detected Van Rootselaar’s conversations about gun violence but did not alert police.
Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT interactions were first flagged in June 2025, according to the lawsuit. Citing OpenAI whistleblowers who spoke to The Wall Street Journal following the shooting, the case alleges that members of the company’s safety team recommended contacting law enforcement, but that recommendation was overruled by Altman and other senior leaders.
The account was later deactivated. However, Van Rootselaar was allegedly able to create another account and continue using ChatGPT while planning the attack, according to the lawsuit.
OpenAI later said the account had been flagged by systems designed to detect “misuses of our models in furtherance of violent activities”. The company said at the time that the conversations did not meet its internal threshold for reporting to law enforcement.
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Province Seeks Damages, Safety Changes
Altman subsequently published a letter addressed to the Tumbler Ridge community in which he said he was “deeply sorry” that OpenAI had not contacted law enforcement. He also promised reforms.
British Columbia’s lawsuit alleges those reforms were not followed through, despite efforts by the province’s attorney general to engage with OpenAI.
The attack has also created significant costs for the province. The school where the shooting occurred is being demolished, while British Columbia has had to absorb expenses related to a replacement school, mental health care and other consequences of the attack, according to the lawsuit.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri called the shooting an “unspeakable tragedy”.
“OpenAI remains committed to working collaboratively with government and law enforcement officials, and continuing to advance our ongoing safety work,” Pusateri said.
Families Of Victims Also Sue OpenAI
The British Columbia case follows lawsuits brought by more than 30 family members of victims and others affected by the shooting, Reuters reported.
Those lawsuits, filed in California federal court, also accuse OpenAI of failing to act despite having an opportunity to intervene.
Police said Van Rootselaar first shot her mother and stepbrother at their home before going to her former school. She then killed an educational assistant and five students aged 12 to 13, according to police.
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Other Lawsuits Target OpenAI’s Safety Practices
The British Columbia lawsuit is part of a growing number of cases filed against OpenAI in US state and federal courts over allegations that ChatGPT contributed to violent incidents, Reuters reported.
Some of the litigation concerns a mass shooting at Florida State University last year.
Florida sued OpenAI in June, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of ChatGPT. The lawsuit alleged that the platform had harmed children by providing information to school shooters, offering guidance on self-harm and encouraging addictive use.
OpenAI has denied the claims. The company has said its models are trained to reject requests that could “meaningfully enable violence” and that law enforcement is notified when conversations indicate an “imminent and credible risk of harm to others.”
