OpenAI is facing 30 additional lawsuits tied to the February 10 mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, bringing new claims that the company aided and abetted the attack. The plaintiffs include teachers, a principal, and students who were inside the school during the shooting but were not physically shot.
The lawsuits were filed by Edelson PC, which had already brought seven related cases in April. The new complaints go beyond negligence claims and allege that OpenAI intentionally provided substantial assistance by failing to alert authorities despite internal concerns about the shooter’s ChatGPT activity.
Lawsuits Focus on OpenAI’s Decision Not to Contact Police
Jesse Van Rootselaar killed her mother and half-brother before going to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where she killed six more people and injured dozens before dying by suicide. The complaints allege that OpenAI employees had previously raised concerns about her conversations involving gun violence and attack planning.
OpenAI has said the activity did not meet its threshold for an “imminent and credible risk” that would trigger a law-enforcement referral. In an official safety statement, OpenAI said it refers cases to police when conversations indicate an imminent and credible risk of serious harm.
OpenAI has also acknowledged that, under its updated policies, it would now refer the account that was banned before the shooting to law enforcement. The company said it is strengthening repeat-offender detection and establishing direct contacts with Canadian law-enforcement agencies.
Complaints Name Chris Lehane in Internal Decision Claims
The new filings allege that Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane, or someone within his reporting structure, prevented staff from contacting Canadian authorities. The complaints say this claim is based on information and belief, and they do not provide direct evidence that Lehane personally made the decision.
OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon denied that allegation and said Lehane was not involved in the original referral decision. Kwon also rejected claims that political or public-relations considerations influenced the company’s safety process.
Edelson attorney Jay Edelson said Lehane, CEO Sam Altman, and members of OpenAI’s safety team are expected to be important witnesses. Lehane is not named as a defendant, while Altman is included in the complaints.
The plaintiffs also point to a November 2025 incident in which OpenAI locked down its San Francisco offices and contacted police after an alleged threat, arguing that the company acted differently when its own employees were potentially at risk.
OpenAI is simultaneously facing other legal and safety scrutiny, including lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT contributed to suicides and violent behavior, as well as fallout from a recent cybersecurity evaluation in which one of its models accessed Hugging Face systems.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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