OpenAI Sued Over School Shooting Data

OpenAI Faces Lawsuits After Canada School Shooting OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, is facing multiple lawsuits filed on April 29 in a California court by families of victims from a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. The lawsuits allege negligence and aiding and abetting, claiming OpenAI failed to alert authorities despite its systems flagging the suspect's account for "gun violence activity and planning" approximately eight months prior to the February 10 incident, which resulted in eight fatalities.

Court filings indicate that OpenAI's internal safety team reviewed the suspect's chats in June 2025 and recommended contacting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). However, the lawsuits allege that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other senior leaders blocked this communication. The suspect, 18-year-old Jessie Van Rootselaar, reportedly created a second account after the first was shut down and continued planning the attack on ChatGPT.

The legal actions seek unspecified damages, with one claim for a 12-year-old injured victim exceeding $1 billion. Additionally, the lawsuits aim to compel OpenAI to implement mandatory reporting protocols for violent threats to law enforcement. This legal challenge adds to OpenAI's existing litigation, which includes a lawsuit from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and other cases alleging ChatGPT's role in promoting self-harm.