ChatGPT faces lawsuits over ties to two mass shootings
May 18, 2026
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2:45Now PlayingChatGPT faces lawsuits over ties to two mass shootings
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as posted by the channelThe family of one of the people killed in last year’s shooting at Florida State University is suing OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. An attorney representing the family says logs show the accused gunman used ChatGPT for advice on how to carry out his attack.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced last month that his office is conducting a criminal investigation into OpenAI for their involvement in the shooting. Uthmeier told reporters that the suspect consulted ChatGPT for advice before the shooting, including what type of gun to use and what ammunition went with it.
A spokesperson for OpenAI says the company is not responsible for the shooting. They say the platform did not encourage harmful activity, but provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet.
Meanwhile, the families of seven victims of a school shooting in February in Canada announced last month that they were suing OpenAI for negligence. A teacher and five 12- and 13-year-old students, as well as the suspect’s mother and 11-year-old half-brother were killed in the attack. 27 others were injured before the gunman killed herself. The shooter used ChatGPT in the run-up to the shooting, and the families of the victims allege the company didn’t do enough to notify authorities of the imminent danger.
In a statement, OpenAI said it had strengthened safeguards in the wake of the shooting, which was one of the deadliest in Canadian history.
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