British Columbia Sues OpenAI Over School Shooting Involving ChatGPT

British Columbia has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming a deadly school shooting could have been avoided if the company had warned police that the shooter used ChatGPT to plan the attack.

The Lawsuit And Allegations

The legal action was filed on Monday in a San Francisco federal court. The province is seeking financial damages to pay for recovery costs and wants a court order to change how OpenAI handles chats that could lead to violence. According to the court documents, the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, had been flagged by the company's safety team for conversations about gun violence, but staff did not alert the police. The shooter's account was deactivated, yet she managed to set up a new account and continue planning the attack using the platform.

Background And Casualties

The shooting took place on February 10 in Tumbler Ridge, a small northern mining town in Canada. Van Rootselaar killed her mother and stepbrother at home before going to her former school, where she shot an educational assistant and five students aged 12 and 13, and then died by suicide. Nine people in total were killed in the attack. One survivor, Maya Gebala, was shot three times including in the skull, and suffered permanent disabilities and brain injuries. The school is currently being demolished, and the province has had to cover the costs for a new school and mental health care.

Reactions And Responses

Niki Sharma, the attorney general of British Columbia, stated that the company has failed to take proper accountability and action. OpenAI released a statement through spokesperson Drew Pusateri, who called the event an unspeakable tragedy and said the company remains committed to working with officials and advancing safety work. In April, Altman sent a letter to the Tumbler Ridge community saying he was deeply sorry that OpenAI did not contact law enforcement, and promised reforms. However, the lawsuit states he never followed through with those promises. Over 30 family members of victims have also filed separate lawsuits against the company in California over the attack.