TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — A new lawsuit filed in Leon County by an FSU shooting survivor alleges OpenAI not only helped the suspected gunman leading up to the attack but also rushed its product to market, bypassing critical safety protocols.

April 17, 2025, is when police say the suspected gunman, Phoenix Ikner, opened fire on FSU’s campus, killing two and injuring six others.

Following the shooting, court records allege that the gunman was in “Constant communication” with ChatGPT, asking questions like, “If there was a shooting at FSU, how would the country react?” “Where do school shooters go in Florida?” and how to un-jam his gun.

Now, more than a year later, OpenAI is facing multiple lawsuits accusing its product of directly aiding the gunman in carrying out the attack and of rushing its product to market.

“The saddest part of this case is that this shooting was entirely preventable,” said Judd Rosen, Attorney with Goldberg and Rosen.

Rosen is representing FSU student Alianna Grant, who was shot three times during the attack.

“The loss of health that my client has experienced being shot three times, a young, innocent victim, permanent scars, psychologically, internally, permanent damage, significant hospital bills,” Rosen said. “All that is the consequence of this program.”

The lawsuit says, “every warning signal Inker disclosed became part of a growing profile that ChatGPT held but never acted upon.”

A spokesperson with OpenAI shared a statement saying that while the shooting was a tragedy, ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime.

“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime. After learning of the incident, we identified an account believed to be associated with the suspect and proactively shared this information with law enforcement. We continue to cooperate with authorities. In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity. ChatGPT is a general-purpose tool used by hundreds of millions of people every day for legitimate purposes. We work continuously to strengthen our safeguards to detect harmful intent, limit misuse, and respond appropriately when safety risks arise.”

— Drew Pusateri, OpenAI spokesperson

Rosen shared with 8 On Your Side that this case is going to set the standard for the rest of our lifetimes when it comes to AI safety. He says it’s the people who have to be the priority, not making money.

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