The British Columbia government has retained legal counsel in both the province and California as it prepares to file a lawsuit against OpenAI in connection with the February mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, Attorney General Niki Sharma announced Tuesday.
Government Seeks Damages for Community Support
Sharma stated that the government will pursue damages to help cover the costs of building a new school and other expenses incurred as a result of the tragedy. On Feb. 10, five children aged 12 to 13 and a female educator were shot and killed at Tumbler Ridge Secondary. The suspect, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, had earlier killed her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at home before exchanging fire with RCMP and taking her own life.
“I think we were all shocked when we heard that there might have been an opportunity to prevent the loss of life that this province suffered, that there was a group of people that were aware of messages on OpenAI that were alarming enough to them to say, ‘We should report to the police,’” Sharma told reporters in Vancouver. “And you know that never happened.”
OpenAI’s Alleged Failure to Report
Sharma pointed to reporting by the Wall Street Journal that OpenAI staff had raised concerns about some of Van Rootselaar’s posts on ChatGPT in the year leading up to the shooting. Van Rootselaar’s account was banned in June 2025 after she created gun violence scenarios using ChatGPT, but the company reportedly opted not to alert law enforcement.
The attorney general said the province is coordinating with the victims’ parents, who announced in April they would be suing the company, but the legal action is still in early stages. The law firms hired by the province are CFM Lawyers in Vancouver and Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, which is based in Nashville, Tenn., with an office in Oakland, Calif.
New School and Community Recovery
Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier David Eby announced a combined $200 million—$100 million each from the federal and provincial governments—to build a new school in Tumbler Ridge and upgrade the local health centre. The old school building will be demolished. Construction on the new school is expected to start later this summer, though no completion date has been announced. High school students ended their school year in portable classrooms set up at the local elementary school.
