British Columbia to sue OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge shooting

The government of British Columbia announced on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, that it is preparing a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company failed to alert law enforcement about violent online activity by the perpetrator of a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge earlier this year. Attorney General Niki Sharma said the province has retained law firms in Vancouver and California to pursue the legal action.

The case centers on the actions of 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who on February 10 killed eight people before dying by suicide. The shooting began at a family home, where Van Rootselaar killed her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother. She then went to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where she shot and killed five students between the ages of 11 and 13 and a 39-year-old educator.

According to officials, OpenAI had banned a ChatGPT account linked to Van Rootselaar in June 2025 after the company’s systems flagged it for generating gun violence scenarios. A human review was conducted, but the company decided the activity did not meet its threshold for reporting to police. Attorney General Sharma stated that provincial lawyers will argue this was a failure that contributed to the tragedy.