Relatives of those killed in a devastating mass shooting in British Columbia have taken legal action against the artificial intelligence company OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman, claiming the firm recognized the shooter posed a dangerous threat but chose not to contact law enforcement.
The federal court filings in San Francisco on Wednesday assert that OpenAI discovered the threat eight months prior to the February attack but remained silent to avoid revealing the extent of violent discussions occurring on its ChatGPT platform, which could have damaged the company’s prospects for a massive public stock offering worth nearly $1 trillion.
Nine individuals perished in the February tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, with many of the victims being young children.
A representative for OpenAI described the incident as “a tragedy” and emphasized the company maintains strict policies against using their technology to facilitate violent acts.
“As we shared with Canadian officials, we have already strengthened our safeguards, including improving how ChatGPT responds to signs of distress, connecting people with local support and mental health resources, strengthening how we assess and escalate potential threats of violence, and improving detection of repeat policy violators,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
These legal challenges represent part of an expanding collection of court cases targeting artificial intelligence firms for allegedly failing to stop chatbot conversations that legal representatives claim lead to self-injury, psychological harm and violent behavior. These appear to mark the first instances in America where ChatGPT is accused of helping enable a mass shooting incident.
Attorney Jay Edelson, representing the affected families, indicated plans to bring forward approximately two dozen additional cases against the company in upcoming weeks on behalf of others affected by the shooting.
The perpetrator, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, whose ChatGPT communications form the basis of these lawsuits, killed her mother and stepbrother at their residence before taking the lives of an education worker and five students between ages 12 and 13 at her previous school on February 10, law enforcement reported. Van Rootselaar subsequently took her own life.
Those bringing the lawsuits include family members of the school victims and a 12-year-old survivor who was shot three times and continues receiving intensive medical care.
Court documents indicate that OpenAI’s automated monitoring systems identified concerning ChatGPT exchanges in June 2025 where the shooter outlined violent scenarios involving firearms.
Members of the safety team urged contacting law enforcement after determining she represented a genuine and immediate danger, according to the legal filing, which references a Wall Street Journal report from February detailing the company’s internal deliberations.
However, Altman and other OpenAI executives rejected the safety team’s recommendation and authorities were never notified, the lawsuit contends. While the shooter’s account was shut down, she managed to create a new profile and continued using the service to organize her attack, the legal action claims.
After the Wall Street Journal story appeared, the company stated the account triggered systems designed to detect “misuses of our models in furtherance of violent activities” but the circumstances did not satisfy internal standards for law enforcement notification.
A week ago, a Tumbler Ridge local publication printed an open letter where Altman expressed being “deeply sorry” the account wasn’t reported to police.
In a Tuesday blog post, OpenAI explained it develops its systems to reject requests that could “meaningfully enable violence,” and contacts law enforcement when discussions indicate “an imminent and credible risk of harm to others,” with mental health professionals assisting in evaluating uncertain situations. The company noted it continuously improves its systems and detection approaches based on user patterns and expert guidance.
The legal cases demand unspecified monetary compensation and a judicial mandate requiring OpenAI to reform its safety procedures, including required law enforcement notification protocols. One victim initially pursued her case in Canadian courts but withdrew it to seek resolution in California, Edelson explained.
These lawsuits regarding the Tumbler Ridge incident follow numerous other legal actions against OpenAI filed in various American courts in recent months alleging ChatGPT enabled dangerous conduct, suicide attempts, and in one instance, a murder-suicide.
The ongoing litigation, still in preliminary stages, will require courts to determine what responsibility an AI system bears in encouraging violence and whether companies can be held accountable for their operations or user behavior.
OpenAI has rejected the allegations in these cases, maintaining in the murder-suicide lawsuit that the individual involved had an extensive history of mental health issues.
Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier revealed earlier this month a criminal inquiry into ChatGPT’s involvement in a 2025 shooting incident at Florida State University.
