OpenAI hit with 30 new lawsuits over Tumbler Ridge shooting

Thirty new complaints landed against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in a San Francisco federal court on Tuesday, filed by students, teachers and a principal present at the February 10, 2026 shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. As The Guardian reported, the suits build on an April filing from seven victim families and move the theory of liability from negligence to aiding and abetting a mass shooting. Two experts in our Who's Who directory shared the Guardian piece, a sign the case is circulating beyond the legal press.

The complaints describe an internal chain of events. OpenAI's Intelligence and Investigations team reviewed the alleged shooter's ChatGPT conversations that had been flagged last June and determined they "posed a credible threat of gun violence against real people," recommending the company alert the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The plaintiffs say that recommendation was overruled by the global affairs team, headed by chief global affairs officer and veteran political strategist Chris Lehane. When the first account was deactivated, the shooter created a second one and kept talking to ChatGPT.

Jay Edelson, the lead attorney, framed the case as a decision by people, not a system failure. "What these complaints show is the larger impact and how many people's lives were really destroyed, all based on decisions made by people at OpenAI," he said. Of Lehane: "Instead of focusing on what's safe for the community, he's focused on, what are the political and public relations fallout going to be if this becomes public?"

OpenAI denies the claims. Chief strategy officer Jason Kwon said "it is absolutely false to say Chris Lehane was involved with our original referral decision," and defended the process: "It's also completely untrue to say that the people at the center of these challenging decisions do not prioritize safety." The company's position is that the shooter's activity did not meet its bar for "imminent and credible risk" of serious physical harm.

The plaintiffs point to a contrast the company itself created. In November 2025, when OpenAI perceived an activist threat aimed at its own San Francisco offices, it locked the buildings down, notified police, and distributed suspect information, while acknowledging "no indication of active threat activity."