HEARING, BUT ONE OF HIS ATTORNEYS ENTERED THE PLEA ON HIS BEHALF. THE VAST MAJORITY OF USERS OF AI ARE USING IT IN THE APPROPRIATE WAY, OR IN A WAY THAT IS NOT NEFARIOUS OR CRIMINAL. BUT ON THOSE INSTANCES WHERE THERE IS AN INDICATION THAT THE INDIVIDUAL IS. HEADED DOWN THE WRONG PATH OR LOOKING TO HARM THEMSELVES OR SOMEONE ELSE, THERE NEEDS TO BE SAFEGUARDS PUT IN PLACE. OPEN AI IS FACING A LAWSUIT ALLEGING THAT CHATGPT PLAYED A ROLE IN A MASS SHOOTING AT FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LAST APRIL THAT LEFT TWO PEOPLE DEAD, INCLUDING A GREENVILLE MAN. THE WIDOW OF BB&T FILED A FEDERAL LAWSUIT IN FLORIDA YESTERDAY. THE COMPLAINT ALSO NAMES PHOENIX EICHNER, THE MAN ACCUSED IN THE SHOOTING, AS A DEFENDANT, CITING HIS EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH CHATGPT AND CLAIMING THE CHAT BOT EITHER DEFECTIVELY FAILE
Attorneys for the family of a Greenville man killed in last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University have filed a lawsuit against the accused shooter and OpenAI.Tiru Chabba was a 45-year-old father of two when he was shot by accused gunman Phoenix Ikner on April 17, 2025. Chabba was on the FSU campus as an employee of campus vendor Aramark Collegiate Hospitality when he was shot. According to the lawsuit, Ikner, an FSU student, was planning the shooting for months and ChatGPT was assisting him in that planning.The lawsuit details conversations between Ikner and ChatGPT wherein the lawsuit says ChatGPT gave him advice and guidance from suggesting what guns to use, where to go on campus and what would be the best time where the most people would be at risk.According to the lawsuit, these conversations continued up until minutes before the shooting with ChatGPT giving Ikner advice on how to use the weapons. The lawsuit says that ChatGPT went as far as to recommend how best to get media attention from a school shooting saying that it’s much more likely for a shooting to gain national attention “if children are involved, even 2-3 victims can draw more attention.” “Ikner had multiple lengthy conversations with ChatGPT about his interests in Hitler, Nazis, fascism, national socialism, Christian nationalism and worse. They talked about multiple mass shootings and they planned this shooting together,” Bakari Sellers, who is representing Chabba’s widow, said. “Not once did anyone flag that as concerning. No one called the police or a psychiatrist or even Ikner’s family because, to do so, would violate OpenAI’s business model.” “ChatGPT didn’t just help Ikner find information. It ‘befriended’ him. It encouraged his delusions. It endorsed his view that he was a sane and rational individual and helped convince him that violent acts can be required to bring about change,” said Gregoria Francis, another attorney representing Chabba’s widow. “Most importantly, it did all that without notifying any authorities because, for OpenAI, engagement is more important than safety because engagement means profit.” The OpenAI spokesperson has responded to NBC News about the lawsuit. Read it here.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —
Attorneys for the family of a Greenville man killed in last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University have filed a lawsuit against the accused shooter and OpenAI.
Tiru Chabba was a 45-year-old father of two when he was shot by accused gunman Phoenix Ikner on April 17, 2025.
Chabba was on the FSU campus as an employee of campus vendor Aramark Collegiate Hospitality when he was shot.
According to the lawsuit, Ikner, an FSU student, was planning the shooting for months and ChatGPT was assisting him in that planning.
The lawsuit details conversations between Ikner and ChatGPT wherein the lawsuit says ChatGPT gave him advice and guidance from suggesting what guns to use, where to go on campus and what would be the best time where the most people would be at risk.
According to the lawsuit, these conversations continued up until minutes before the shooting with ChatGPT giving Ikner advice on how to use the weapons.
The lawsuit says that ChatGPT went as far as to recommend how best to get media attention from a school shooting saying that it’s much more likely for a shooting to gain national attention “if children are involved, even 2-3 victims can draw more attention.”
“Ikner had multiple lengthy conversations with ChatGPT about his interests in Hitler, Nazis, fascism, national socialism, Christian nationalism and worse. They talked about multiple mass shootings and they planned this shooting together,” Bakari Sellers, who is representing Chabba’s widow, said. “Not once did anyone flag that as concerning. No one called the police or a psychiatrist or even Ikner’s family because, to do so, would violate OpenAI’s business model.”
“ChatGPT didn’t just help Ikner find information. It ‘befriended’ him. It encouraged his delusions. It endorsed his view that he was a sane and rational individual and helped convince him that violent acts can be required to bring about change,” said Gregoria Francis, another attorney representing Chabba’s widow. “Most importantly, it did all that without notifying any authorities because, for OpenAI, engagement is more important than safety because engagement means profit.”
The OpenAI spokesperson has responded to NBC News about the lawsuit. Read it here.