The mother of a critically injured survivor from the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the AI giant behind ChatGPT, alleging the company failed to notify law enforcement about threats identified in the shooter’s discussions with its chatbot.
Vancouver Sun reports that a civil lawsuit has been filed in British Columbia Supreme Court against OpenAI and its ChatGPT platform on behalf of Cia Edmonds and her two daughters, including 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who survived the February 2026 mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. The lawsuit alleges that the technology company had advance warning of the shooter’s intentions but failed to alert Canadian authorities.
According to the court documents, shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar, who was 17 years old at the time, opened a ChatGPT account during the summer of 2025. The lawsuit claims that Van Rootselaar described various scenarios involving gun violence over the course of several days through interactions with the AI platform.
The legal filing alleges that 12 monitoring staff members at ChatGPT identified Van Rootselaar’s inquiries as indicating an imminent risk of serious harm to others. These employees reportedly recommended that Canadian law enforcement be notified of the concerning activity and escalated the matter to company leadership. However, the lawsuit claims that company executives subsequently rebuffed their employees’ request to contact authorities.
Instead of alerting police, the company allegedly closed Van Rootselaar’s account. The lawsuit states that Van Rootselaar then opened a second account and continued using the platform. The shooter used their second account to continue planning scenarios involving gun violence, including a mass casualty event like the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, with ChatGPT and to receive mental health counselling and pseudo-therapy from ChatGPT, according to the legal claim.
On February 10, 2026, Van Rootselaar killed his mother and half-brother in their Tumbler Ridge home before walking to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. At the school, the shooter killed five students and one teacher before taking his own life. Maya Gebala was among those shot during the attack and suffered horrific injuries.
Maya remains hospitalized with a catastrophic brain injury and right-side paralysis. She was attempting to lock a door when she was shot during the attack. Her younger sister Dahlia is also named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The allegations outlined in the lawsuit regarding Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT accounts were first reported by the Wall Street Journal in February. The report brought international attention to questions about the responsibilities of artificial intelligence companies in monitoring and reporting potentially dangerous user activity.
Following the public disclosure of these allegations, OpenAI founder and billionaire Sam Altman held meetings with Canadian government officials. On March 4, Altman met with Federal AI Minister Evan Solomon and reportedly agreed to implement a number of safety changes to the platform’s monitoring and reporting procedures.
The next day, on March 5, Altman met with British Columbia Premier David Eby. According to Premier Eby’s account of the meeting, Altman promised to issue an apology to the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting. However, as of March 9, no such apology had been made public by OpenAI or its leadership.
The legal firm representing Edmonds and her daughters issued a statement explaining the broader objectives of the lawsuit beyond financial compensation. The statement noted that a planned coroner’s inquest into the mass shooting would likely involve detailed analysis of Van Rootselaar’s medical and schooling records, as well as a forensic examination of his electronic devices.
Breitbart News social media director Wynton Hall, the author of the hotly anticipated book Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI, features protecting the mental health of our young people in the book. Ranging from the rise of “AI girlfriends” to the impacts of AI on education, Code Red explores the topics conservatives must craft positions on in the months to come.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, praised Code Red as a “must-read.” She added: “Few understand our conservative fight against Big Tech as Hall does,” making him “uniquely qualified to examine how we can best utilize AI’s enormous potential, while ensuring it does not exploit kids, creators, and conservatives.” Award-winning investigative journalist and Public founder Michael Shellenberger calls Code Red “illuminating,” ”alarming,” and describes the book as “an essential conversation-starter for those hoping to subvert Big Tech’s autocratic plans before it’s too late.”
Read more at Vancouver Sun here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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