British Columbia sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over a school shooting

British Columbia filed suit in federal court in San Francisco against OpenAI and Sam Altman personally, over the February 10 attack in Tumbler Ridge that killed eight people — the 18-year-old shooter's mother and half-brother at home, then five children and an educator at a school.

The province's case is not that ChatGPT gave instructions. It is that OpenAI knew. According to the filing, human reviewers flagged the shooter's account in 2025 for what they judged to be potential warnings of real-world violence and recommended alerting law enforcement. The account was banned. A second account was later found. The RCMP was never called. Attorney General Niki Sharma said the case “raises serious questions about the responsibilities of tech firms when they become aware of credible threats.”

B.C. wants its emergency-response and recovery costs covered, wants OpenAI to fund a new school in Tumbler Ridge, and wants a court order forcing the company to overhaul how it detects and escalates violent threats. Altman apologised in April for the failure to report the first account and promised reforms; Premier David Eby called the apology “necessary, and yet grossly insufficient,” and the suit argues the promised changes were never made. Victims' families have filed separately, and OpenAI was already facing more than 50 cases before this one.

• Reported The suit says ChatGPT’s safety team flagged conversations about gun violence by the 18-year-old attacker before the February 10 attack, which killed eight people. Al Jazeera
• Reported B.C. seeks compensation for emergency response and recovery costs, plus a court order forcing OpenAI to overhaul how it handles threats of violence. Al Jazeera
• Reported Attorney General Niki Sharma: the case “raises serious questions about the responsibilities of tech firms when they become aware of credible threats.” Al Jazeera