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30 new lawsuits filed
OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman are facing 30 additional lawsuits tied to the Tumbler Ridge school shooting in Canada, filed Wednesday in California federal court by students, teachers, and the school’s former principal.
“providing “substantial assistance and encouragement””
The complaints accuse OpenAI of providing “substantial assistance and encouragement” to the alleged shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, through ChatGPT, and they allege OpenAI’s automated review system flagged conversations about gun violence but “did nothing.”
CBC reports the new plaintiffs include educators, a principal and students, including siblings separated during the Feb. 10 attack in northern B.C., and it says the tragedy left eight victims dead, including six children, along with the 18-year-old shooter.
CBC also says the lawsuits describe physical and psychological injuries that “will never fully heal,” and it reports that Edelson PC says OpenAI’s safety team repeatedly asked to notify authorities about Van Rootselaar’s activity on ChatGPT eight months before the tragedy.
The Globe and Mail adds that the suits allege OpenAI notified law enforcement immediately about threats against its own staff but allegedly withheld potentially life-saving information about the Tumbler Ridge shooter’s violent chat history before the attack.
Lehane, Kwon dispute claims
The new wave of lawsuits was filed in a California federal court on Wednesday, and The Verge says the plaintiffs allege OpenAI’s safety team recommended contacting Canadian authorities while the lawsuits allege OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane was involved in a decision to stay silent.
Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer, responded on X and told NPR’s account that it is “absolutely false to say Chris Lehane was involved with our original referral decision, or that our investigators report to him in any way.”
NPR reports that the complaints allege Lehane and Altman approved decisions about whether to refer safety concerns to law enforcement, and it quotes one complaint saying, “As a result, the decision whether to alert law enforcement to a user planning a mass attack was not made” by the threat-assessment professionals.
CBC reports that Kwon also said the company has teams that “work hard to define standards and processes for when to report cases to law enforcement,” while also saying the teams identify warning signals of violence and protect the privacy and security of “more than one billion users.”
The Globe and Mail similarly quotes Kwon’s statement that the judgment “is always rooted in looking out for this balance for people,” while also disputing the plaintiffs’ framing that safety was subordinated to other priorities.
What plaintiffs seek next
Beyond negligence claims, TechCrunch says the new filings “for the first time” accuse OpenAI of aiding and abetting the mass shooting, a theory that requires proving intent and is described as likely to face early dismissal challenges.
“specific injunctive relief from a California court to compel corporate changes at OpenAI”
Bloomberg Law News reports the complaints allege OpenAI’s automated system flagged the account used by Van Rootselaar for “gun violence activity and attack planning” roughly eight months prior to the shooting, and that an internal safety team recommended referring the chat logs to law enforcement.
Bloomberg Law News also says leaders vetoed that recommendation in June 2025 and deactivated Van Rootselaar’s account, while it reports that despite deactivation she was able to register for a new account.
Global News reports that plaintiffs are seeking “full disclosure of the chat logs between the shooter and ChatGPT from the beginning up until the date of the mass shooting,” and it adds they also want disclosure of internal chain of command documents about the identification and the decision to not make that phone call.
In addition, Global News quotes lawyer John Rice saying the lawsuit is seeking “specific injunctive relief from a California court to compel corporate changes at OpenAI,” and it frames the goal as preventing another Tumbler Ridge by reforming platform safety.