OpenAI sued by British Columbia over school shooting

British Columbia filed a lawsuit in California against OpenAI on Monday, accusing the company of failing to report violent activity on ChatGPT by the person who later killed eight people at a home and school in Tumbler Ridge, Canada.

British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma said the lawsuit seeks “accountability and change” from OpenAI. She said the province believed California was the right place to file the case because “the decision not to report happened in California.”

The case is linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, who killed her mother and brother at the family home before going to the local secondary school, where she shot dead five children and a teacher. She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after police entered the building.

Families affected by the shooting have filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI in California. OpenAI has moved to dismiss those cases, arguing that any legal action related to the shootings should be heard in British Columbia.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman apologized to Tumbler Ridge residents in April, saying he was “deeply sorry” the company did not alert law enforcement to an account that had been banned in June. OpenAI has said it did not report the account when it was suspended because it saw no evidence of an imminent attack. The company has also said that, under updated security guidelines imposed after June 2025, the account would have been reported to police.

Lawyers for the families suing OpenAI allege the company chose not to report Van Rootselaar’s account because “reporting one case would mean reporting thousands.” Their lawsuit also claims that when an account is shut down for dangerous behavior, OpenAI tells the user how to resume using the service, including how to get around a 30-day suspension period.

Sharma declined to say how British Columbia might use any settlement funds, but said resources would be devoted to building a new school in Tumbler Ridge.