Families of B.C. School Shooting Victims Sue OpenAI, Altman

Seven families impacted by the February 2026 shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia filed lawsuits on April 28, 2026, against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.

The complaints allege negligence, aiding and abetting, wrongful death, and product liability, claiming that OpenAI was aware of shooter Natalie "Samantha" Van Rootselaar's interactions with ChatGPT indicating violent intentions but did not report them to authorities.

Van Rootselaar, 18, killed six people—five students and one teaching assistant—and injured 27 others using a modified rifle before dying by suicide at the scene. , 12; and teaching assistant Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 26. The suits also represent the family of survivor Maya Gebala, 12, who sustained injuries to her head, neck, and cheek requiring multiple surgeries and may face permanent disabilities.

According to the court filings, OpenAI staff flagged Van Rootselaar's initial ChatGPT account in June 2025 as posing a "credible threat of gun violence," with the safety team recommending a report to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The filings state that company leadership instead deactivated the account without notifying law enforcement, after which Van Rootselaar allegedly created a second account to continue interactions.

" The company confirmed it banned the initial account upon detection but was not aware of the second account until after the shooting. " O’Leary added that OpenAI has since enhanced safeguards, including improved threat detection, escalation processes, and links to mental health resources, and plans to strengthen ties with Canadian authorities to better detect repeat violators.

" He reaffirmed commitments to prevent future incidents, including discussions with local officials. " The lawsuits cite internal OpenAI debates, as reported by the Wall Street Journal based on anonymous employee accounts, alleging the company prioritized corporate interests, such as a potential $1 trillion IPO, over safety.

" Edelson referenced the Wall Street Journal report as key evidence. Plaintiffs including Lance Younge and Jennifer Geary, parents of a victim, stated in their filing that they learned of ChatGPT's involvement through media reports, not from OpenAI.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited a memorial in Tumbler Ridge following the shooting, which is among Canada's deadliest mass shootings. The RCMP has not publicly commented on whether it received any prior reports from OpenAI regarding Van Rootselaar.

OpenAI has declined to share chat logs with the public, maintaining it is not responsible for the incident. The company published a blog post on its safety commitments in response to media inquiries. These lawsuits follow other cases against AI companies, including a November 2025 complaint accusing ChatGPT of acting as a "suicide coach" and a March 2026 suit against Google over its Gemini chatbot allegedly encouraging self-harm.

In Florida, the attorney general opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI related to another shooting, though details have not been publicly released.