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Tumbler Ridge, B.C., families sue Altman and OpenAI over shooting

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Apr, 2026 09:17 AM

Victims and their families in the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., earlier this year have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in California against OpenAI and founder Sam Altman.

In court documents provided by lawyers representing seven people affected by the Feb. 10 shooting, the plaintiffs also accuse the artificial intelligence company and their founder of failing to warn authorities and aiding and abetting the shooting, among other allegations.

Among the plaintiffs is 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who was shot in the head and gravely injured, and the father of Abel Mwansa Jr., also 12, who was killed.

Altman apologized last week because OpenAI didn't go to police last year when staff identified troubling online behaviour by 18-year-old shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar, who months later shot eight people dead, before killing herself.

Law firm Rice Parsons Leoni & Elliott LLP says the plaintiffs decided to pursue the lawsuit in California partially because of caps placed on damages for pain and suffering in Canadian courts.

The firm says in a statement that the largest punitive damages award in Canadian history was $1.5 million.

Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

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