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Teachers, students file new wave of lawsuits against OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge shooting
Thirty new lawsuits allege OpenAI ignored safety warnings about the shooter's chats and failed to alert authorities, with claims ChatGPT deepened her violent fixation.
- On Tuesday, lawyers filed 30 new complaints in a California federal court against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, representing victims of the February 10 Tumbler Ridge Secondary School shooting in British Columbia.
- Plaintiffs allege OpenAI's intelligence team flagged shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar's account for "gun violence activity and planning" in June 2025, but Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane overruled safety staff recommendations to alert the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- Victims claim leadership "ignored its own safety staff and refused to alert police" regarding Van Rootselaar, yet acted to protect offices following threats to employees three months before the shooting.
- OpenAI's chief strategy officer Jason Kwon denied Lehane's involvement, stating it is "absolutely false to say Chris Lehane was involved with our original referral decision," while the company previously said the activity did not meet the "higher threshold required" for police notification.
- These complaints join more than 30 existing legal actions against AI companies regarding user harms, with the new filings notably accusing OpenAI of "aiding and abetting" the shooting to hold the organization accountable.
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96 Articles
Eight months after one of Canada's deadliest shootings, more than 30 complaints targeted the AI company and specifically targeted the director of international affairs, Chris Lehane, as one of those responsible for a dysfunction that may have led to the tragedy.
·Paris, France
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources96
Leaning Left51Leaning Right7Center20Last UpdatedBias Distribution65% Left
Bias Distribution
- 65% of the sources lean Left
65% Left
L 65%
C 26%
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