OpenAI sued in Canada over mass school shooting

Authorities in the Canadian province of British Columbia are accusing OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, of failing to report to law enforcement the account of the alleged attacker who later carried out a mass school shooting.

The Financial Times writes about this.

The lawsuit was filed on September 21 in federal court in San Francisco by British Columbia Attorney General Nikki Sharma and the local school board. It accuses OpenAI of negligence and of aiding and abetting a mass shooting.

The shooting occurred in February 2026 at a school in Tumbler Ridge. Nine people were killed, including five students, a school employee, and the attacker’s family. The attacker herself also died.

The lawsuit cites a Wall Street Journal investigation, according to which, in June 2025, OpenAI’s automated monitoring system detected the attacker’s account and handed it over to specialists for review.

After analyzing the messages, the OpenAI team concluded that the account posed a “concrete and credible risk of harm to others.” Experts recommended notifying the police, but the company’s management only decided to block the account. The attacker subsequently continued to use ChatGPT through a different account, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit notes that the tragedy, according to the plaintiffs, could have been avoided if OpenAI had warned law enforcement or the school.

The document also claims that the company already knew about the risks of using ChatGPT to prepare violent attacks after at least two similar incidents in the United States.

Altman himself previously apologized to the Tumblr Ridge community for OpenAI’s failure to contact law enforcement regarding the attacker’s account activity.

British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma stated that OpenAI has not yet done enough to address the concerns raised by victims, their families, and local authorities. She also proposed changes to Canadian legislation to more clearly define human liability for actions related to the use of artificial intelligence.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for the community and local authorities’ expenses incurred in assisting the victims and recovering from the tragedy. They are also asking the court to compel OpenAI to implement additional preventative measures.

OpenAI said the company “remains committed to collaborating with government and law enforcement agencies” and continues to improve its security systems.