The family of a young girl critically injured in a mass shooting in Canada has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company failed to alert authorities about troubling activity linked to the attacker on its ChatGPT chatbot.
Lawyers representing 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who remains hospitalized following the shooting, said the legal action seeks to determine how the tragedy occurred and whether the technology company could have helped prevent it.
According to the lawsuit, OpenAI had previously banned an account connected to the suspected gunwoman, Jesse Van Rootselaar, in June 2025 due to concerns about violent-related activity.
However, the company did not inform law enforcement at the time because it said there was no indication of an imminent attack.
Eight months later, the 18-year-old carried out a deadly shooting in the small mining town of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia.
Authorities say the attacker first killed her mother and brother at their family home before going to a nearby secondary school, where she shot and killed five students and a teacher.
She later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after police entered the building.
The law firm representing the victim’s family said the lawsuit aims to uncover the full circumstances surrounding the tragedy and hold responsible parties accountable.
“The purpose of this lawsuit is to learn the whole truth about how and why the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting happened, impose accountability and help prevent another atrocity in Canada,” the lawyers said in a statement.
Gebala remains in critical condition in hospital and has undergone multiple emergency brain surgeries and other life-saving medical procedures, according to her family’s legal representatives. Doctors say her long-term prognosis remains uncertain.
The shooting has also prompted scrutiny of artificial intelligence companies and their safety measures.
Canadian officials have summoned OpenAI executives to Ottawa to discuss security protocols, while David Eby has held discussions with the company’s chief executive Sam Altman.
OpenAI expressed sympathy over the incident, describing the shooting as an “unspeakable tragedy.”
The company said it has since updated its safety procedures, including consulting mental-health and law-enforcement experts to better identify when chatbot conversations may signal credible threats.
The firm added that its updated policies would now require notifying authorities in situations similar to the case.
