British Columbia has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, in a California federal court. The lawsuit claims that a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in February could have been prevented if OpenAI had alerted local law enforcement that the shooter had used ChatGPT to plan the attack. The lawsuit names OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, as defendants, seeking damages to help cover the costs of recovery efforts and demanding changes to how the company handles conversations on its platform that might lead to violence. The shooting at a local school left nine people dead, mostly children, and caused significant trauma to the community. The shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, had been flagged by OpenAI’s safety team after her conversations with ChatGPT about gun violence. However, the company did not alert police. In a public letter, Altman expressed deep regret for not contacting law enforcement and promised reforms. However, the lawsuit claims he failed to follow through, despite repeated attempts by British Columbia’s attorney general to engage with OpenAI. The school where the shooting took place is currently being demolished, and the province has had to cover the costs of building a new school, providing mental health services, and addressing other long-term effects of the tragedy. A spokesperson for OpenAI, Drew Pusateri, called the shooting a "tragedy" and stated the company remains committed to working with government and law enforcement to improve safety measures. The lawsuit follows over 30 additional lawsuits filed by victims’ families and others affected by the attack in California, accusing OpenAI of failing to prevent the shooting. Van Rootselaar shot her mother and stepbrother at home before going to her former school, where she killed an educational assistant and five students aged 12 and 13 on February 10. She then died by suicide. According to the lawsuit, her interactions with ChatGPT were flagged as early as June 2025, and safety team members recommended contacting police. However, Altman and other OpenAI leadership overruled them, according to whistleblowers who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. Van Rootselaar was able to create a new account after her original one was deactivated and continued using the platform to plan her attack. The lawsuit is part of a growing wave of legal action against OpenAI in both U.S. state and federal courts, with similar cases involving claims that ChatGPT facilitated violence, including a mass shooting at Florida State University last year. In June, Florida became the first state to sue OpenAI, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its platform. OpenAI has denied these claims, stating it trains its AI models to refuse requests that could "meaningfully enable violence" and notifies law enforcement when conversations suggest an "imminent and credible risk of harm to others."