Tumbler Ridge shooting victims file 30 new lawsuits against OpenAI
Dara Kerr
Thirty new lawsuits have been filed in US federal court on behalf of victims of the Tumbler Ridge, Canada, mass shooting, accusing OpenAI's ChatGPT of inciting the gunman in an attack that killed eight people. The suits allege OpenAI knew about the shooter's violent intentions but failed to alert authorities.
OpenAI is facing 30 new lawsuits filed Wednesday on behalf of victims of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, Canada. The lawsuits allege that the company's ChatGPT chatbot incited the shooter to carry out the attack in rural Canada in February, which killed eight people and wounded dozens, mostly children.
Lead plaintiffs' attorney Jay Edelson said: "These are people who truly went through hell that day. Children watched their teachers die, watched their friends die, and thought they were going to be shot to death."
The new cases were filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, following Edelson's initial seven lawsuits in April, bringing the total number of lawsuits against OpenAI related to the Tumbler Ridge shooting to 37. All lawsuits allege that the shooter's violent intentions, identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, were known to OpenAI's senior leadership but were not reported to authorities.
According to court documents, company safety team staff flagged the shooter's account to executives eight months before the attack, describing her in internal messages as a "credible and specific threat of gun violence to real people." OpenAI banned her account, but she quickly created a new one, the lawsuits allege.
The lawsuits accuse OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of negligence, aiding and abetting a mass shooting, and product liability.
Jason Kwon, OpenAI's chief strategy officer, said in a statement that he thinks about what happened at Tumbler Ridge every day and that the company is working to build standards for reporting incidents to law enforcement. He said: "The experts who work in these teams choose to do this incredibly difficult work because they care deeply about keeping people safe. They come to work every day knowing they may have to make a decision that they will think about for the rest of their lives."
A wave of lawsuits has been filed against OpenAI and other tech companies alleging that their chatbots exacerbate mental health crises and incite violent behavior. OpenAI has been sued in seven separate cases alleging ChatGPT acted as a "suicide coach." A criminal investigation and civil lawsuit by Florida's Attorney General accuse OpenAI of hiding safety risks after the shooting at Florida State University.
The Tumbler Ridge shooting occurred at a high school, shortly after Van Rootselaar killed her mother and 11-year-old brother at their home. The new lawsuits include cases from the family of a girl who was shot, along with the principal, teachers, and students.
The attack is one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history. Since then, many questions have been raised in the small British Columbia town about how it could happen.
Edelson pointed to Chris Lehane, OpenAI's head of global affairs and a former Bill Clinton administration official specializing in opposition research. He said Lehane was one of the recipients of warnings from the company's safety team but dismissed repeated suggestions to notify authorities. The lawsuits allege that decision was also approved by Altman.
Edelson said: "What's clear is that OpenAI has repeatedly made decisions to hide the dangers of their platform because they were worried about regulation and public backlash."
In response, OpenAI's Kwon said: "The suggestion that Chris Lehane was involved in our initial referral decision is completely false... It is also completely untrue to say that those at the center of these difficult decisions did not prioritize safety, or that there were 'political' or 'PR' factors involved."
When the first seven lawsuits were filed in April, OpenAI posted a blog about its "safety commitment." Altman also sent a letter to the Tumbler Ridge community apologizing for not informing Canadian police about what OpenAI knew about the shooter's potential threat.
Altman wrote: "While I know words are never enough, I believe an apology is necessary to acknowledge the irreparable harm and loss your community has suffered."
British Columbia Premier David Eby posted the letter on social media with the comment: "An apology is necessary, but completely insufficient for the devastation to the families of Tumbler Ridge."
