Tumbler Ridge, B.C. — Province Sues OpenAI to Fund New School

British Columbia filed a civil complaint Monday against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, demanding the company pay to rebuild Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and cover emergency-response costs tied to a mass shooting the province says the shooter planned with the help of ChatGPT, according to Ars Technica.

What does British Columbia's lawsuit ask OpenAI to pay for?

The complaint asks the court to order OpenAI and Altman to cover the cost of a replacement school and "a wide range of other emergency costs that never would have been incurred if not for" the shooting "and its foreseeable consequences," the province wrote, according to Ars Technica's review of the filing. Demolition of the original building began in August, and the community hopes a new school at a different location will be finished by the end of 2026.

What did OpenAI allegedly know about the shooter's ChatGPT use?

18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar used ChatGPT to plan the February attack, the lawsuit alleges, and OpenAI knew this in advance but did not warn law enforcement. Van Rootselaar first shot a mother and half-brother, then killed five students and an education assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary before dying by suicide inside the school — eight deaths total, per Ars Technica's account of the filing.

"[Tumbler Ridge Secondary School sat] in the heart of the town, both geographically and culturally," the lawsuit states, adding that after the shooting the building became an unavoidable "symbol of the trauma."

What injunctive changes does the province want from OpenAI?

Beyond damages, British Columbia is seeking a court order requiring OpenAI to make product changes intended to stop ChatGPT-assisted violence, including automatically terminating conversations that turn violent. The filing frames this as a companion demand to the financial claims: money for Tumbler Ridge's recovery, plus a mandated fix to the product itself.

Why does B.C. want the shooter's chat logs released?

The province and the local school district's Board of Education asked the court for an immediate order forcing OpenAI to make Van Rootselaar's ChatGPT logs public. OpenAI has so far shared the logs only with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Ars Technica reported that a Florida law enforcement agency released chat logs publicly after a separate ChatGPT-linked shooting at Florida State University, a precedent the B.C. filing points to in arguing disclosure is both possible and warranted.

What has OpenAI or the RCMP said in response?

Asked whether it plans to release the logs, the RCMP declined to comment directly and instead pointed Ars Technica to a July statement confirming only that police are investigating. OpenAI has not disclosed the logs beyond that law enforcement sharing. The families of the eight victims had already sued OpenAI separately over the company's alleged failure to alert authorities before the attack.

Case in numbers

• 8 people killed, including five students and an education assistant
• ~160 students, teachers, and staff "trapped in classrooms and closets" during the attack, per the filing
• 18 years old — the shooter's age
• Demolition of the school began in August 2026; a rebuild is targeted for year-end 2026

The lawsuit does not specify a dollar figure for damages in the portions reviewed by Ars Technica, and OpenAI had not filed a public response as of the report.

mindfulAI Keyboard — An iPhone keyboard that rewrites a draft in a tone you pick. Four free AI actions a day.