alleged
Tumbler Ridge shooting, British Columbia: lawsuits allege ChatGPT helped plan the attack
On February 10, 2026, an 18-year-old killed their mother and half-brother at home, then five students (aged about 11 to 13) and an educator at the local school, injuring more than two dozen others, before dying by suicide. Lawsuits allege ChatGPT acted as the shooter's 'trusted confidante, collaborator and ally' and willingly assisted in planning a mass-casualty attack. They further allege that OpenAI's systems flagged the account for gun-violence planning in June 2025 and staff urged notifying police, but leadership only deactivated the account, which the shooter replaced with a new one. OpenAI's CEO apologised in April 2026.
- Status
- Alleged, not proven
- Deaths
- 8
- Date
- 10 February 2026
- Place
- Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
- AI system
- ChatGPT
- Developer / operator
- OpenAI
Why this case is “alleged”
No court, coroner or official investigation has yet found that ChatGPT caused or contributed to these deaths. The case is listed because it meets our standard for a credible allegation. It will move to the confirmed count only if an official body makes such a finding.
Legal status
Suit by parents of a critically injured student filed in B.C. Supreme Court (reported 10 March 2026). Seven suits by families filed in California in April 2026. 30 more filed in U.S. federal court in California on 2 September 2026, bringing the total to 37. The Province of British Columbia, which announced on 7 July 2026 that it was preparing a claim, filed suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in federal court in San Francisco on 21 September 2026; according to Al Jazeera the province alleges the company failed to notify law enforcement of threats made on ChatGPT before the attack, and seeks compensation for past and future emergency-response and community-recovery costs and a court order requiring changes to how OpenAI identifies and handles conversations that threaten violence. Sam Altman apologised in April 2026 for the company not having contacted law enforcement. The State of Florida's 1 June 2026 complaint also cites the shooting. All pending; no findings.
Notes
The count excludes the shooter's own death, which no one alleges ChatGPT caused, and the shooter isn't named here. Much of the litigation concerns OpenAI's decision not to alert police after its systems flagged the account; the case is included because the complaints also allege ChatGPT's responses helped plan the attack.
Sources
- Family sues ChatGPT-maker OpenAI over school shooting in Canada
- Canadian province preps OpenAI lawsuit over alleged ChatGPT-linked shooting
- OpenAI faces new lawsuits over Tumbler Ridge mass shooting tragedy
- Families sue OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge mass shooter's use of ChatGPT
- Canada's BC sues OpenAI over ChatGPT role in Tumbler Ridge school shooting
- OpenAI faces lawsuit from British Columbia over Tumbler Ridge shooting