Sep 21, 2026 7:23 PM - Connect Newsroom - Ramandeep Kaur with files from The Canadian Press

British Columbia’s government has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence company OpenAI in a California court, alleging that the company failed to alert law enforcement about concerning activity linked to the suspect in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting.
B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma announced the legal action at a news conference Monday. The case is connected to the Feb. 10 mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge School, in which an 18-year-old gunman killed eight people, including six children.
The provincial government alleges that OpenAI’s safety team became aware months before the shooting of highly concerning and suspicious violent activity by the suspect on ChatGPT. However, the government claims the company’s leadership did not report the activity to police or other law enforcement agencies.
The lawsuit is separate from 37 civil cases already filed against OpenAI by victims’ families, teachers and students.
Sharma said the province’s legal action aims to help prevent similar incidents in the future, hold the company accountable and recover damages resulting from the Tumbler Ridge shooting.



