A lawsuit was filed against OpenAI Sunday by the widow of a man killed in an April 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, alleging ChatGPT advised the gunman on how to best carry out the shooting.
The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of helping facilitate the April 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University through its ChatGPT chatbot. The suit was brought by Vandana Joshi, whose husband Tiru Chabba was one of two people killed in the attack, alongside university dining director Robert Morales, as NBC News reports. Six others were wounded.
The complaint names alleged gunman Phoenix Ikner as a co-defendant, alleging he used ChatGPT extensively while planning the shooting, according to Reuters. Attorneys for Joshi claim the chatbot advised Ikner on when and where to carry out the attack for maximum casualties, as well as what weapons and ammunition to use.
The lawsuit further alleges ChatGPT failed to flag or intervene during conversations about mass shootings, weapon lethality, and crowded campus locations.
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and accuses OpenAI of releasing a defective product without adequately warning the public about potential risks. The Associated Press reports that during a Monday press conference announcing the lawsuit, attorneys for Joshi alleged the chatbot reinforced Ikner’s delusions, validated his thinking, and encouraged violent action leading up to the shooting.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri denied that ChatGPT played a role in the shooting, calling the attack “a tragedy” while maintaining the chatbot only provided factual information already widely available online.
Pusateri said OpenAI identified an account believed to be linked to the suspect following the shooting and voluntarily turned it over to law enforcement, per Reuters. He added that the company is continuing to cooperate with investigators while working to improve its ability to detect harmful intent.
Ikner, the son of a deputy sheriff, was shot by responding officers and hospitalized after the attack. He's facing two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder.
OpenAI has faced multiple recent lawsuits tied to violent incidents involving ChatGPT. As SFist reported last August, a lawsuit was filed accusing OpenAI of making it too easy for users to circumvent the chatbot’s safety guardrails after a teenage boy died by suicide. Last month, seven families sued the company over a school shooting in Canada.
In March, juries in Los Angeles and New Mexico found Meta liable in separate cases involving the harms its platforms pose to children, including allegations that the company concealed internal knowledge about child sexual exploitation and mental health impacts tied to its platforms. YouTube was also found liable in the Los Angeles case.
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