My students should be here’
New lawsuits were filed this week in California against OpenAI over the Feb. 10 mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northeastern British Columbia, which left nine people dead, including the shooter.
The suits were filed on behalf of teachers, students and families through the class-action firm Edelson PC, CBC News reported, and allege ChatGPT was used to help plan the attack.
They also allege that OpenAI's leadership ignored its own safety staff and refused to alert police despite knowing the shooter's account had been flagged internally.
The claims allege OpenAI prioritized its planned move to become a publicly traded company over warning Canadian officials or law enforcement, per CBC News. Chief strategy officer Jason Kwon disputed this on X, saying the firm applied standard escalation processes to a difficult case.
Chief executive Sam Altman has apologized and said new safeguards are now in place, CBC News reported. The claims will be tested in court in California, where OpenAI is headquartered.
Shooting sequence and police response
Nine people, including the shooter, died on Feb. 10, including an education assistant, five students, and the shooter's mother and sibling.
RCMP arrived within two minutes of a 1:20 p.m. call. Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said: "As officers approached the school, rounds were fired in their direction."
More than 100 people were evacuated; two survivors were airlifted in critical but stable condition.
Shooter's background and investigation
The shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, had left the school years earlier; RCMP found no link between the attack and bullying over her gender transition.
She had a documented mental health history, including prior apprehensions under the Mental Health Act, as COS previously reported.
Firearms were seized from her home two years earlier, then returned. No motive has been established.
Teacher's statement details toll
Plaintiff Deidre Rushlow, a teacher who had students in the library during the attack, said her classroom "now terrifies" her, CBC News reported.
In her statement, Rushlow said: "My students should be here."
The school is being demolished and rebuilt with government funding while students use portable classrooms, per CBC News.
Andy Roszak of the Institute for Childhood Preparedness said: "Just thinking it can never happen here is not a plan," per COS.
He recommended layered entry security, camera coverage of parking lots, and folding violence prevention into broader risk assessments.
Roszak favoured trauma-informed training over hyper-realistic drills and stressed boards' duty of care to prepare, particularly in resource-limited communities.
