British Columbia filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco federal court, alleging that a mass shooting in the province could have been prevented if the company had alerted local law enforcement after the shooter used ChatGPT to plan the attack, according to Reuters. The February attack in Tumbler Ridge left nine people dead, primarily children, and has triggered multiple legal actions against the artificial intelligence developer.
The Tumbler Ridge Attack and OpenAI Safety Flags
The lawsuit details that the shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, used ChatGPT to plan the massacre, according to Reuters. Van Rootselaar shot her mother and stepbrother at home before killing an educational assistant and five students aged 12 to 13 at her former school on February 10, according to police reports cited by Reuters. Van Rootselaar subsequently died by suicide.
OpenAI’s safety team first flagged Van Rootselaar’s interactions with ChatGPT in June due to conversations regarding gun violence, according to the lawsuit. While safety team members recommended contacting police, OpenAI leadership overruled the recommendation, according to whistleblowers who spoke to the Wall Street Journal in reporting cited by Reuters. Although the shooter’s original account was deactivated, she bypassed the restriction by creating a new account to continue planning the attack on the platform, according to court documents.
Legal Demands and Company Response
British Columbia’s lawsuit seeks damages to cover provincial expenses related to recovery, including mental health care and the replacement of the local school, which is currently being demolished, according to Reuters. The legal action also asks the court to order changes in how OpenAI handles ChatGPT conversations that indicate potential violence. The filing notes that CEO Sam Altman previously published a letter expressing deep sorrow over failing to contact law enforcement and promised safety reforms, but never implemented them despite engagement efforts from British Columbia’s attorney general.
Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for OpenAI, addressed the litigation by calling the Tumbler Ridge shooting an unspeakable tragedy, according to Reuters. “OpenAI remains committed to working collaboratively with government and law enforcement officials, and continuing to advance our ongoing safety work,” Pusateri said, as reported by Reuters. Following a Wall Street Journal article on the incident, OpenAI stated that its systems flagged the account for misuses involving violent activities, but maintained that the activity did not meet its internal criteria for reporting to law enforcement.
Broader Legal Challenges Over AI Safety
The British Columbia filing follows a series of lawsuits filed against OpenAI in United States state and federal courts concerning claims that ChatGPT facilitates violence, according to Reuters. More than 30 family members of victims and other individuals impacted by the Tumbler Ridge attack have filed separate lawsuits in California federal court, accusing the company of missing an opportunity to prevent the tragedy, as reported by Reuters.
In June, Florida became the first U.S. state to sue OpenAI over safety risks, pointing to alleged misrepresentations of ChatGPT platform safety, including claims that the technology has harmed children by supplying information to school shooters, offering self-harm guidance, and addicting young users, according to Reuters. OpenAI has denied those claims, stating that its models are trained to refuse requests that could enable violence and that the company notifies law enforcement when conversations indicate an imminent and credible risk of harm to others.
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