British Columbia Sues OpenAI Following ChatGPT's Failure to Prevent Tumbler Ridge School Shooting

Workers install a fence around a makeshift memorial for the victims of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, on February 12, 2026 [Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters]. The Canadian province of British Columbia has officially filed a lawsuit against the California-based firm OpenAI. The legal action stems from the company's failure to notify law enforcement regarding threats made on its ChatGPT platform prior to a devastating school shooting in Tumbler Ridge.

Filed in federal court in San Francisco on Monday, the lawsuit names both OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, as defendants. The British Columbia government is pursuing financial compensation from OpenAI to cover the expenses of emergency response and ongoing community recovery efforts, both past and future. Additionally, the lawsuit requests a court order demanding that the company fundamentally revise its protocols for identifying and managing user conversations that involve threats of violence.

The February 10, 2026 attack in the small town of Tumbler Ridge claimed eight lives and is regarded as one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history. The perpetrator, 18-year-old former student Jesse Van Rootselaar, first killed her mother and half-brother at home before proceeding to a secondary school. There, she killed five children and an educator before dying by suicide at the scene.

People attend a community vigil at a makeshift memorial at the town hall in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, on February 13, 2026 [Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters]. Records show that Van Rootselaar had been flagged by ChatGPT’s safety team following conversations about gun violence, yet the company neglected to alert the police.

British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma stated that the residents of Tumbler Ridge deserve accountability and answers. "This action is an important step toward seeking justice for the families, students, educators and community members whose lives were forever changed," she said. Sharma emphasized that the lawsuit raises critical questions regarding the obligations of technology firms when they become aware of credible violent threats, noting an urgent demand for robust national safeguards surrounding artificial intelligence technologies.

A 3D-printed miniature model of Sam Altman and the ChatGPT logo are seen in this illustration taken on July 20, 2026 [Dado Ruvic/Reuters]. Although Altman published an open letter to the community in April expressing deep sorrow for failing to contact law enforcement and promising reforms, the lawsuit asserts that he never followed through, despite engagement efforts from the province’s attorney general.

This legal action from British Columbia follows more than 30 separate lawsuits filed in the same San Francisco federal court by victims' families, survivors, and others impacted by the tragedy, all accusing OpenAI of negligence for failing to intervene and notify authorities.