OpenAI Hit with 30 New Lawsuits Accused of ‘Aiding and Abetting’ Canadian School Shooting to Protect PR Image
Internal threat investigators urged leadership to alert police, but executives stayed silent over PR concerns — while immediately locking down and calling police when their own office faced vague threats.
On September 2, 2026, law firm Edelson PC filed 30 additional lawsuits in a California court against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on behalf of surviving teachers, a principal, and students. The complaints mark the first time OpenAI is formally accused of "aiding and abetting" a mass shooting, stemming from the February 2026 attack at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada, where a 17-year-old shooter killed 8 people and injured dozens before dying by suicide.
According to the complaints, months before the attack, OpenAI's automated systems flagged the shooter's extensive conversations with ChatGPT asking for advice on planning an attack and gun violence. OpenAI's internal Intelligence and Investigations Team urged leadership to alert Canadian law enforcement. However, the threat assessment team had been placed under Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane, a seasoned PR and damage control operative. The lawsuits allege that leadership suppressed the police referral to protect the company's public image and finances, merely deactivating the shooter's account, which she promptly re-created.
OpenAI previously defended its silence by claiming the chats did not meet the internal bar for an "imminent and credible risk" and cited user privacy. But the lawsuit highlighted a devastating double standard: in November 2025, when an activist made a vague threat against OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters with "no indication of active threat activity," OpenAI immediately locked down its offices, distributed the suspect's photo to thousands of employees, and notified police. The complaint noted: "When its own people were at risk, no 'privacy' interest stopped OpenAI from notifying the police."
Sources: TechCrunch ("OpenAI faces 30 more lawsuits tied to Tumbler Ridge shooting"), The Verge ("OpenAI accused of ‘aiding and abetting’ Tumbler Ridge mass shooting in dozens of new lawsuits"), NPR ("New lawsuits claim OpenAI execs put image ahead of safety in Canadian mass shooting").
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