British Columbia sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge shooting

British Columbia filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Monday, claiming the tech company could have prevented the Tumbler Ridge mass school shooting in the Canadian province. The shooter used ChatGPT to plan the massacre, which led to the deaths of eight people in February, the province said. Investigators say Jesse Van ⁠Rootselaar, 18, a male who identified as female, shot his mother and stepbrother at their home, before killing a teacher and five students at his former school. Van ⁠Rootselaar then committed suicide at the scene. British Columbia, alongside Peace River South School District, filed the lawsuit in a federal court in California, where OpenAI is based.

British Columbia owed it to the families, survivors, and all whose lives were changed by the tragedy to get answers and accountability, according to the province’s attorney general, Niki Sharma, who was quoted in the statement.

What did the lawsuit say? Van ⁠Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account was previously flagged by OpenAI’s safety team for conversations about gun violence in 2025. While a review team recommended that local police in Canada be alerted, OpenAI leadership rejected this and instead deactivated Van ⁠Rootselaar’s account, the lawsuit alleged. But Van ⁠Rootselaar was able to continue interacting with the platform through a second account.

The lawsuit said that the company has designed a dangerous product that needs greater accountability. British Columbia asked for damages for the significant resources it has spent on the recovery and rebuilding of the community.

Several family members of those killed have also filed lawsuits against the company.

What has OpenAI said? OpenAI said in a statement to CBC News that the events at Tumbler Ridge were an unspeakable tragedy. The company emphasized that it was committed to working with government and law enforcement officials to advance its safety protocols. WORLD reached out to OpenAI for further comment but did not immediately hear back. This story will be updated with any response received.

Dig deeper: Read Samuel Sey’s column for WORLD Opinions on the troubled life of Van ⁠Rootselaar.