Tumbler Ridge: The government of British Columbia has sued OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman in a California federal court, alleging that the company failed to warn police about concerning ChatGPT conversations before the February 10 mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, Canada.
The attacker killed eight people, including five students, an educational assistant and two family members. The 18 year old shooter subsequently died by suicide, bringing the total number of deaths to nine.
According to the lawsuit, OpenAI’s automated systems flagged conversations involving gun violence in June 2025. Members of its safety team reportedly recommended contacting police after assessing the user as a credible and imminent threat, but the company’s leadership decided against doing so.
The account was deactivated, but the lawsuit alleges the user opened another account and continued accessing ChatGPT while planning the attack.
OpenAI previously acknowledged that its systems had flagged the activity but said the conversations did not meet its internal threshold for reporting a threat to law enforcement. Altman later apologised to the Tumbler Ridge community for the company’s failure to contact police.
An OpenAI spokesperson described the shooting as an “unspeakable tragedy” and said the company remained committed to working with governments and law enforcement while improving its safety systems. OpenAI says it reports conversations when they indicate an imminent and credible risk of harm.
British Columbia is seeking compensation for expenses linked to mental health care, community recovery and replacing the school. It also wants the court to require changes in how OpenAI handles conversations indicating possible violence.
The proceedings centre on whether an AI company can face legal responsibility for harm committed by a user and whether it had a duty to warn. A duty to warn is a possible legal obligation to notify authorities or people at risk when a credible danger becomes known. The court has not yet ruled on the allegations.
