British Columbia sues OpenAI over school shooting

The government of the Canadian province of British Columbia sued the developer of ChatGPT company OpenAI and its head Sam Altman because of the shooting in the city of Tumbler Ridge. Nine people were killed, including Jesse Van Rutselaar. The plaintiff claims the tragedy could have been prevented had OpenAI alerted police that the shooter had used ChatGPT to prepare for the killings. According to the BBC, the lawsuit was filed in the United States in federal court in the state of California.

The Tumbler Ridge High School tragedy occurred on February 10, 2026. Then the former student of the school 18-year-old Jesse Van Rutselaar killed 5 students and a teacher. She also injured 27 people and then killed herself. Before coming to school, she shot her mother and her 11-year-old half-brother at home.

Jesse Van Rutselaar used ChatGPT to plan the attack on the school. Her first ChatGPT account was blocked by OpenAI for promoting violence six months before the tragedy, but she opened a new account. Since then, more than 30 separate lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI from the families of the victims, victims and eyewitnesses. In April, Sam Altman published an open letter. He apologized for not alerting the police.

The British Columbia authorities are seeking compensation from the defendant, including medical expenses and funds for the construction of a new school to replace the one demolished after the joke. The plaintiff is seeking a court order that will oblige OpenAI to completely change its approach to moderating and processing ChatGPT conversations that could lead to violence.

Alena Miklashevskaya