Victims' families file negligence lawsuits against OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge shooting

Families of the victims from the February 10 Tumbler Ridge school shooting have initiated legal proceedings against OpenAI in a federal court in San Francisco. Six separate negligence lawsuits were filed on Wednesday, seeking accountability for the company's handling of safety protocols prior to the tragic events. The litigation centres on allegations that OpenAI's automated systems identified the alleged shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, as planning gun violence in June 2025, yet the firm chose to deactivate her account instead of alerting local authorities.

The core of the claims rests on a specific complaint filed on behalf of survivor Maya Gebala. It alleges that OpenAI's safety mechanisms flagged Van Rootselaar's ChatGPT conversations for gun violence activity and planning. The suit asserts that while the safety team recommended contacting police, management opted to disable the user's access. According to the filings, Van Rootselaar subsequently created a second account and continued her interactions with the platform before the attack.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman issued a public apology last week for the failure to contact local police following the incident. The company stated that it has strengthened its safeguards since the event, including improvements to how ChatGPT responds to signs of distress and better connections to mental health resources. A spokesperson emphasised a zero-tolerance policy for using tools to assist in violence, noting that the firm has already shared these enhanced measures with Canadian officials.

The tragedy in British Columbia claimed the lives of five students, a teacher, and the shooter's mother and half-brother, with two others critically injured. Van Rootselaar took her own life after the school attack. The legal action represents the latest attempt to utilise the court system to hold AI companies accountable for product design decisions, following a precedent set last summer by a wrongful death suit filed against an AI company concerning the suicide of Adam Raine.

While OpenAI has expanded its safety policies to recognise subtle signs of risk across different contexts, the specific details of the internal communications between the safety team and management remain unverified outside of the plaintiffs' allegations. The extent to which the flagged conversations constituted a credible threat of imminent violence is currently a matter of legal interpretation rather than established fact.

The filing marks a significant escalation in the scrutiny facing artificial intelligence firms regarding their safety infrastructure. As the legal process unfolds, the outcome of these suits may provide further insight into how regulators and courts view the responsibilities of technology giants in preventing real-world harm.