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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 7 Jul 20267 Jul 2026<\/p>\n
The Canadian province of British Columbia is preparing to sue OpenAI, alleging the US company failed to alert police after its staff internally flagged violent ChatGPT conversations linked to the person responsible for February\u2019s Tumbler Ridge mass shooting<\/a>.<\/p>\n Attorney General Niki Sharma announced Tuesday that the province has hired legal teams in British Columbia and California to \u201cexplore all legal avenues to hold OpenAI and its decision-makers accountable for its documented failure to notify law enforcement regarding explicit, flagged threats made by the perpetrator on the company\u2019s ChatGPT platform.\u201d<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n OpenAI is based in San Francisco, California in the United States.<\/p>\n The move stems from the February 10 attack in the remote mountain community of Tumbler Ridge, where authorities say 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar<\/a> killed their mother and half-brother before going to the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and opening fire.<\/p>\n Five children between the ages of 11 and 13 and one educator were killed at the school. Twenty-seven other people were wounded before Van Rootselaar died from what police described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.<\/p>\n In a statement<\/a>, Sharma\u2019s office said internal reports from OpenAI showed that its safety teams flagged the shooter\u2019s \u201cviolent prompts on ChatGPT months before the attack, yet the company\u2019s leadership did not notify police or local authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen there are serious concerns that opportunities to prevent harm were missed, we have a responsibility to act,\u201d said Sharma.<\/p>\n The announcement comes three months after families of seven victims launched their own lawsuit in California against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, on behalf of five people who were killed and two who were injured in the shooting.<\/p>\n Their lawyers said in a news release<\/a> that in June 2025, about eight months before the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, the company \u201cflagged and banned the perpetrator\u2019s ChatGPT account for \u2018disturbing content\u2019 which allegedly included the discussion and planning of violent scenarios\u201d.<\/p>\n They added, however, that despite 12 different OpenAI employees \u201cimploring\u201d the company to notify police about the shooter\u2019s plans, no action was taken.<\/p>\n