{
  "id": 9019273,
  "title": "British Columbia sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge school shooting",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/british-columbia-sues-openai-over-tumbler-ridge-school-shooting-9019273",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-21T22:06:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/british-columbia-sues-openai-over-tumbler-ridge-school-shooting-6400766"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 21, British Columbia filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in California, claiming that the company could have prevented a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge by alerting local law enforcement about the shooter's use of ChatGPT for planning the attack. The lawsuit names OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, as defendants, seeking damages for the province's recovery costs, including the replacement of the school, mental health care, and other consequences. Nine people, primarily children, were killed in the February 10 attack, with the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, later dying by suicide.\n\nVan Rootselaar had previously been flagged by OpenAI's safety team after conversations about gun violence, but no alert was sent to the police. Sam Altman later published a letter expressing deep regret for OpenAI's failure to notify law enforcement and promised reforms, but failed to act on those promises despite the attorney general's efforts to engage. OpenAI's spokesperson, Drew Pusateri, described the Tumbler Ridge shooting as an \"unspeakable tragedy\" and reiterated the company's commitment to collaborating with government and law enforcement officials.\n\nThe lawsuit comes after over 30 family members of victims and others impacted by the attack filed separate lawsuits in California federal court, accusing OpenAI of failing to prevent the shooting. Van Rootselaar's interactions with ChatGPT were initially flagged in June 2025, but the company chose not to alert law enforcement. Despite the whistleblower revelations published in the Wall Street Journal, OpenAI continued to refuse to report the issues to law enforcement, citing internal criteria for reporting.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 11,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Vancouver Sun",
        "title": "B.C. launches lawsuit against OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge mass shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/b-c-launches-lawsuit-against-openai-over-tumbler-ridge-mass-shooting",
        "published": "2026-09-21T20:04:12.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Financial Post",
        "title": "British Columbia sues OpenAI for failure to warn before shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/british-columbia-sues-openai-for-failure-to-warn-before-shooting",
        "published": "2026-09-21T20:27:36.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Canada’s British Columbia sues OpenAI in US court over school shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/canadas-british-columbia-sues-openai-in-us-court-over-school-shooting",
        "published": "2026-09-21T21:50:59.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "British Columbia sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge school shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/british-columbia-sues-openai-over-tumbler-ridge-school-shooting-9026097",
        "published": "2026-09-21T22:06:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Techmeme",
        "title": "British Columbia sues OpenAI for alleged safety violations and negligence for failing to flag the Tumbler Ridge shooting suspect's ChatGPT activity to police (Georgia Wells/Wall Street Journal)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/british-columbia-sues-openai-for-alleged-safety-violations-and",
        "published": "2026-09-21T22:55:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Business Insider",
        "title": "British Columbia files a lawsuit against OpenAI over mass shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/british-columbia-files-a-lawsuit-against-openai-over-mass-shooting",
        "published": "2026-09-22T00:16:43.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Canada’s BC sues OpenAI over ChatGPT role in Tumbler Ridge school shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/canadas-bc-sues-openai-over-chatgpt-role-in-tumbler-ridge-school",
        "published": "2026-09-22T02:44:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "British Columbia sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge school shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/british-columbia-sues-openai-over-tumbler-ridge-school-shooting",
        "published": "2026-09-22T03:13:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Le Monde English",
        "title": "British Columbia sues OpenAI in US court over Canada school shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/british-columbia-sues-openai-in-us-court-over-canada-school-shooting",
        "published": "2026-09-22T03:47:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "KahawaTungu",
        "title": "Canadian province sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge school shooting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/canadian-province-sues-openai-over-tumbler-ridge-school-shooting",
        "published": "2026-09-22T03:53:10.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}