The family of a young girl severely injured in last month’s mass shooting in Canada has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT. They allege the company was aware that Jesse Van Rootselaar, the shooter, intended to carry out the attack.
Twelve-year-old Maya Gebala was shot three times at close range during the incident at her school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on February 10. The bullets struck her head, neck, and cheek, resulting in severe brain trauma that will lead to lifelong cognitive and physical challenges, as detailed in the legal filing submitted to the British Columbia Supreme Court on Monday.
The legal action accuses Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old who identified as transgender, of using ChatGPT to orchestrate the attack, which claimed the lives of eight and injured 27 others.
The lawsuit contends that OpenAI possessed “specific knowledge” of Van Rootselaar’s use of ChatGPT to formulate plans for the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, according to a report by KSAT.
Van Rootselaar concluded his violent spree by taking his own life. The lawsuit alleges that he treated ChatGPT as a confidant, using the AI’s responses to assist in carrying out his deadly intentions.
Van Rootselaar — who ended the carnage by turning the gun on himself — had used ChatGPT as a trusted ally, and the chatbot responded by facilitating his evil plan, the lawsuit alleged.
OpenAI later told police that the killer’s ChatGPT account had been closed before the attack, but he evaded the ban by using a second account.
OpenAI said it had considered alerting the police about Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT activity months before the shooting, but did not do so.
“What happened in Tumbler Ridge was an unspeakable tragedy, and our thoughts remain with the victims, their families, and the entire community,” an OpenAI spokesperson told The Post in response to the latest lawsuit.
“OpenAI remains committed to working with government and law enforcement officials to make meaningful changes that help prevent tragedies like this in the future,” the spokesperson added.
Rootselaar’s horror was one of Canada’s worst school shootings, and the deadliest mass shooting since 2020 attacks in Nova Scotia.
Van Rootselaar first gunned down his mother and his 11-year-old half-brother at their home in Tumbler Ridge, a small mining town of under 2,500 people.
He then brought a modified rifle and a long gun to Tumbler Ridge School, killing one victim in a stairwell and five others in the school library before shooting himself shortly before police arrived.
The mass shooting was the latest by a transgender killer, sparking fears of a mental health crisis.
