OpenAI sued by spouse of FSU shooting victim
Source: Engadget
Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / Getty Images
Background
The spouse of a Florida State University mass shooting victim is suing OpenAI, alleging that the company provided the alleged shooter with “input and assistance.” The lawsuit was filed by Vandana Joshi; Tiru Chabba was one of two university employees killed during the April 2025 event, which also left seven others injured.
Lawsuit Details
- The plaintiff claims the alleged shooter, Phoenix Ikner, received “input and information” from ChatGPT over several months, including in the days leading up to the attack.
- According to the complaint, ChatGPT allegedly:
- Identified the firearms later used in the shooting.
- Instructed Ikner on how to operate the weapons and plan the attack.
- Suggested that involving children would attract more media attention.
The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of negligence, battery, and wrongful death (see related case), and requests a jury trial. The full filing can be viewed on DocumentCloud.
OpenAI’s Response
Drew Pusateri, spokesperson for OpenAI, told Engadget that the company is cooperating with authorities and working to improve safeguards. He stated:
“In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity.”
Pusateri added that OpenAI identified an account believed to be associated with the suspect and proactively shared the information with law enforcement.
Legal Actions
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has recently opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI, arguing that the chatbot’s role in the FSU shooting could make the company a principal to the crime under state law.