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OpenAI Sued Over Alleged Failure to Flag Canadian School Shooter Threat
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Moneycontrol•25-09-2026, 13:54
OpenAI Sued Over Alleged Failure to Flag Canadian School Shooter Threat
- •OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman face a lawsuit from British Columbia for allegedly failing to alert police about a potential threat linked to a mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
- •The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, claims OpenAI's automated system flagged the attacker's ChatGPT account in June 2025, and human reviewers identified a "credible specific risk of harm to others."
- •Despite a recommendation to refer the matter to police, OpenAI leadership allegedly rejected it, deactivating the account; the attacker later used a second account.
- •The lawsuit argues the attack, which killed nine people including the attacker, could have been prevented if OpenAI had warned law enforcement or the school.
- •British Columbia seeks compensation for community costs, preventive measures, and new federal rules requiring AI companies to report serious threats.
Key Questions Answered
British Columbia's attorney-general and the local school board filed a lawsuit alleging that OpenAI failed to alert police after its automated system flagged a credible threat linked to the February school shooting in Tumbler Ridge.
OpenAI's automated monitoring system flagged the attacker's account in June 2025 and recommended referring the matter to police, but leadership rejected the recommendation and instead deactivated the account.
British Columbia Attorney-General Niki Sharma wrote to federal ministers proposing amendments to the criminal code and the establishment of greater human accountability and new federal rules requiring AI companies to report serious threats.
