British Columbia Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman Over ChatGPT's Role in Tumbler Ridge School Shooting

Key facts

• British Columbia filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
• The lawsuit alleges OpenAI's failure to notify law enforcement about violent ChatGPT threats contributed to a mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on February 10.
• The attack killed nine people: an educational assistant, five students aged 12 to 13, the shooter's mother and stepbrother; the 18-year-old shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, died by suicide at the scene.
• Van Rootselaar's ChatGPT conversations in June 2025 contained repeated references to gun violence; OpenAI safety team members pushed to alert law enforcement but were overruled by Altman and senior leaders.
• After her original account was shut down, Van Rootselaar opened a new account and continued using ChatGPT to plot the attack.
• The 39-page complaint charges OpenAI with putting a dangerous product on the market, failing product liability requirements, and facilitating a mass shooting.
• British Columbia seeks damages for costs including mental health care and a replacement school (the building is being demolished), plus a court order to change how OpenAI handles violent ChatGPT conversations.
• The suit follows lawsuits by over 30 victims' family members in California federal court and a June lawsuit by Florida, the first U.S. state to sue OpenAI over safety risks.