British Columbia is preparing a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company failed to report violent ChatGPT activity by the perpetrator of a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge. The province is coordinating with Canadian families who have already filed lawsuits in California.
Families of seven victims killed in a mass shooting at a British Columbia secondary school have filed lawsuits against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company knew about the shooter's violent intentions eight months before the attack but failed to alert authorities. The lawsuits claim OpenAI's safety team identified the shooter’s account as posing a "credible and specific threat of gun violence" but leadership chose to deactivate the account instead of notifying Canadian police. The January 2026 attack in Tumbler Ridge killed five children, a teaching assistant, and the shooter’s mother and brother before the shooter took their own life at the school.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has apologised to the community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, saying he was "deeply sorry" the company did not inform police about a banned ChatGPT account linked to the killer who murdered eight people in a February mass shooting. OpenAI banned an account connected to Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025, eight months before the attack, due to concerns about violent activity, but did not alert authorities as nothing pointed to an imminent threat. Canadian officials have summoned OpenAI leaders to Ottawa, and the family of a gravely wounded student is suing the tech giant for negligence.
