Legal action filed in California alleges that artificial intelligence giant OpenAI spotted warning signs in chat logs months before a deadly school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, yet failed to alert police.
On Monday, British Columbia filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in California, alleging the tragic school shooting could have been prevented if the Sam Altman-led AI company had warned local authorities that the shooter had used ChatGPT in connection with planning the attack.
OpenAI Faces Lawsuit Over Flagged Chats
Naming OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman as defendants, the complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco seeks damages to cover the province's recovery costs following the February attack. It also asks for a court order requiring the tech firm to change how it handles ChatGPT conversations that could lead to violence.
"We're bringing the fight to OpenAI in California to do the just that."
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BC's Attorney General defends filing suit against OpenAI in California over the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, arguing the alleged decision not to report safety threats happened at company HQ. pic.twitter.com/6tvG1oZzBP
Nine people died in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, including the shooter. The eight other victims were her mother, her stepbrother, an educational assistant and five students. According to the lawsuit, Jesse Van Rootselaar had been flagged by OpenAI's safety team following conversations concerning gun violence, but the company did not alert police.
According to the lawsuit, Altman later apologised, expressing deep regret that OpenAI had not contacted law enforcement and pledging systemic updates. However, British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma said the company had not taken meaningful steps to address concerns raised by survivors, families and the Tumbler Ridge community.
Safety Alerts and Police Warning
With the affected campus undergoing demolition, the province is seeking to recover costs associated with rebuilding and other consequences of the tragedy, according to the complaint. The province has also said it is pursuing support for community rebuilding, including the construction of a new school facility.
Reacting to the event, an OpenAI representative described the incident as an unspeakable tragedy.
'OpenAI remains committed to working collaboratively with government and law enforcement officials, and continuing to advance our ongoing safety work,' the representative stated.
The provincial lawsuit follows separate legal action brought by more than 30 victims' families and survivors in a California federal court. Those cases accuse OpenAI of failing to prevent the violence.
The provincial filing says Van Rootselaar, 18, killed her mother and stepbrother at home before opening fire at her former school on 10 February, killing an educational assistant and five students aged 11 to 13, before taking her own life.
Lawsuit Details Claims Against OpenAI
According to the lawsuit, citing information from Wall Street Journal reporting and whistleblowers, OpenAI safety staff identified Van Rootselaar's ChatGPT activity in June 2025 and recommended contacting police. The lawsuit alleges that the warning was not acted upon by company leadership and that her account was deactivated rather than being permanently blocked, after which she allegedly continued using ChatGPT through another account.
The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI's systems had flagged the activity as violent misuse. The company has previously maintained that the circumstances did not meet its internal threshold for notifying authorities.
The case follows other legal actions in the US over allegations concerning ChatGPT's role in violent incidents. In June, Florida became the first US state to sue OpenAI, alleging that the company misrepresented the safety of ChatGPT and that the service posed risks to children.
That lawsuit cited the April 2025 Florida State University shooting, as well as other alleged incidents involving violence and self-harm. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier's complaint alleges that ChatGPT provided information to school shooters, offered guidance related to self-harm and contributed to addictive use among young users.
OpenAI Faces Wider Safety Scrutiny
OpenAI has disputed allegations that its systems are responsible for violent crimes and has said its models are designed to reject requests that could meaningfully enable violence. The company has also said it works with law enforcement when conversations indicate an imminent and credible risk of harm to others.
The British Columbia lawsuit now adds to growing legal scrutiny of how AI companies identify potentially dangerous conversations, when they should intervene and what responsibilities they may have when users discuss plans for violence.
