Victims of a Mass Shooting in Canada Sue Open AI in California

On February 10, in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, an eighteen-year-old shooter killed eight victims in a school, mostly children, before killing herself. Attorneys for the victims have filed wrongful death claims against Open AI in California. Open AI flagged communications the shooter made to ChatGPT and made a conscious decision not to notify police. In addition to the failure to warn claim, the victims’ attorneys claim that Open AI and its founder Sam Altman aided and abetted the shooting. In 1978, the Supreme Court of Canada capped non-economic damages in personal injury cases. Adjusted for inflation, those caps are approximately $470,000-$475,000 CAD as of early 2026. Thus, victims’ attorneys filed in California, where Open AI has its headquarters and there are no relevant caps on damages.

Chuck Chiang of the Canadian Press in Vancouver has the story.