{"slug": "canadian-officials-eye-legal-action-against-openai-in-wake-of-mass-shooting", "title": "Canadian officials eye legal action against OpenAI in wake of mass shooting", "summary": "British Columbia is exploring legal action against OpenAI for failing to alert authorities to threats made on ChatGPT before a February mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge that killed eight people. Attorney General Niki Sharma said the province will pursue accountability over OpenAI's failure to notify law enforcement despite flagging the shooter's account months earlier. OpenAI faces separate lawsuits from victims' families and has since updated its referral protocol.", "body_md": "**Getting your**\n\n[Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...**By Jessica Kim, Bloomberg**\n\nBritish Columbia is exploring legal action against [OpenAI](/tag/OpenAI/) for its failure to alert authorities to threats made on ChatGPT before the [February mass shooting in the town of Tumbler Ridge.](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/02/10/shooter-in-canada-kills-9-people-and-injures-25-others-at-a-school-and-home/)\n\n“We will pursue every available avenue to hold OpenAI and its decision-makers accountable,” Niki Sharma, BC’s attorney general, said in a statement Tuesday. “We are taking this step because there are serious concerns about[ OpenAI’s failure to notify law enforcement](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/04/29/openai-sued-by-families-of-canada-school-shooting-victims/) after threats were flagged on its platform.”\n\n**RELATED: OpenAI says Canada mass shooter evaded ban with second ChatGPT account**\n\nOpenAI and Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman already face separate [lawsuits from victims of the shooting and their families.](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/04/29/openai-sued-by-families-of-canada-school-shooting-victims/)\n\nPolice alleged that Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, killed eight people and injured 27 before taking her own life in one of Canada’s worst mass shootings.\n\nOpenAI flagged Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account in June 2025 — several months before the shooting — by systems that check for misuse, including potential violent activity. The company banned the account, but said it did not meet the threshold for referral to law enforcement at the time. After the shooting, the company contacted Canadian authorities.\n\nIn February, OpenAI told Canadian lawmakers that, under newly updated company rules, it would have told police about the account earlier. Altman also apologized to the Tumbler Ridge community in a letter in April.\n\n“The events in Tumbler Ridge are a tragedy. We have a zero-tolerance policy for using our tools to assist in committing violence,” OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in an email, citing its enhanced referral protocol.\n\nBC has retained lawyers locally and in California.\n\nMore stories like this are available on [bloomberg.com](https://www.bloomberg.com)\n\n©2026 Bloomberg L.P.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/canadian-officials-eye-legal-action-against-openai-in-wake-of-mass-shooting", "canonical_source": "https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/07/08/bc-eyes-legal-action-against-openai-in-wake-of-mass-shooting/", "published_at": "2026-07-08 15:19:16+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-08 15:43:47.564755+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety", "ai-policy", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "Sam Altman", "Niki Sharma", "Jesse Van Rootselaar", "British Columbia", "Tumbler Ridge", "Bloomberg"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/canadian-officials-eye-legal-action-against-openai-in-wake-of-mass-shooting", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/canadian-officials-eye-legal-action-against-openai-in-wake-of-mass-shooting.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/canadian-officials-eye-legal-action-against-openai-in-wake-of-mass-shooting.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/canadian-officials-eye-legal-action-against-openai-in-wake-of-mass-shooting.jsonld"}}