Seven families of victims killed or injured in a February mass shooting at a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, have taken legal action against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman.
The lawsuits, filed in California, allege that the tech giant possessed actual knowledge of the shooter's violent intent through his interactions with ChatGPT but failed to notify the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
According to the legal filings, OpenAI’s internal safety team flagged the 18-year-old suspect’s references to gun violence months before the attack, but senior leadership allegedly vetoed a recommendation to report the individual to authorities. The plaintiffs argue that this decision was a calculated move to protect the company's $850 billion valuation.
While Altman has since issued an apology for the failure to alert law enforcement, the lawsuits claim the company lied about banning the suspect, who reportedly created new accounts to continue planning the attack.
OpenAI maintains it has a zero-tolerance policy for violence and has strengthened its safeguards, but the legal team representing the victims, led by Jay Edelson, expects to file over two dozen additional actions.
This is not the only legal trouble for the company; OpenAI is also reportedly under a criminal probe in Florida regarding a separate shooting incident involving the use of its platform.
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