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Plaintiffs claim OpenAI's safety system flagged the shooter's ChatGPT conversations months before eight people died in Tumbler Ridge, BC, but the company never alerted authorities.
Eight people are dead, roughly 37 lawsuits are filed in U.S. federal court, and OpenAI is at the center of a legal storm that may redefine what tech companies owe the public when their own systems raise red flags about a user.
The shooting happened on February 10, 2026, in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18 at the time, killed eight people, including family members and victims connected to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, and injured approximately 25 to 27 others.
What OpenAI allegedly knew and didn’t do #
According to the lawsuits, OpenAI’s own automated safety system flagged Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT conversations about gun violence back in June 2025, roughly eight months before the shooting.
The company’s internal safety team reportedly recommended notifying the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. OpenAI allegedly did not make that call. Instead, the company deactivated Van Rootselaar’s account without contacting Canadian law enforcement.
Plaintiffs say Van Rootselaar subsequently recreated his account, allowing the conversations to continue. The decision not to alert authorities, despite an internal recommendation to do so, is the core of the negligence claims.
The lawsuits allege OpenAI prioritized protecting its financial reputation over public safety.
Seven initial lawsuits were filed on April 29, 2026. By early September, that number had grown to approximately 37, filed by survivors and family members of victims seeking damages that plaintiffs say could exceed $1 billion in total.
Altman weighs in, and the legal machinery accelerates #
Sam Altman issued a public apology in April 2026, acknowledging that OpenAI failed to handle the situation properly. He expressed regret over the company’s response to the flagged conversations.
The cases are consolidated in U.S. federal court in California, which is OpenAI’s home jurisdiction. Plaintiffs are pursuing claims on multiple legal theories: negligence, product liability, and wrongful death.
The families filing these suits are not just seeking compensation. Court filings indicate plaintiffs want systemic changes, specifically, enforceable obligations for AI firms to report credible threats of violence identified by their own safety systems.
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