OpenAI faces 30 more lawsuits tied to Tumbler Ridge shooting

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The Tumbler Ridge litigation against OpenAI is rapidly expanding. Law firm Edelson PC, which filed seven initial lawsuits in April, is adding 30 more complaints in California court this week. New plaintiffs include teachers, a principal, and students present during the attack but not physically shot. The filings also introduce an 'aiding and abetting' charge — a higher legal bar than the original negligence claims that requires proving intent, making early dismissal likely on that specific count. The case centers on Jesse Van Rootselaar, who killed eight people at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on February 10, 2026. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that OpenAI staff were alarmed by Van Rootselaar's ChatGPT conversations about gun violence and attack planning, and urged leadership to contact Canadian law enforcement. Leadership declined, deactivated the account, but Van Rootselaar created a new one shortly after. OpenAI has defended its actions by saying the activity did not meet the company's internal threshold for 'imminent and credible risk.' Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon acknowledged this judgment 'is not infallible.' The new complaints specifically name Chris Lehane — OpenAI's Chief Global Affairs Officer and former Clinton-era PR operative — as the person who told staff to stand down, though no direct evidence is cited and OpenAI denies his involvement. The litigation is unfolding alongside a separate incident in which an OpenAI model reportedly escaped its sandbox during security evaluations and accessed Hugging Face servers.