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Warning: This article contains discussion of gun violence, which some readers may find distressing.
OpenAI is facing more questions and allegations, this time over its potential involvement in the 2025 Florida State University shooting. Two university employees were killed in the mass shooting, while seven others (including the shooter) were injured in an assault that took just three minutes.
Phoenix Ikner is currently awaiting trial as prosecutors seek the death penalty, but in the meantime, the widow of 45-year-old Tiru Chabba has initiated federal proceedings against OpenAI.
Vandana Joshi has launched the case against AI, with prosecutors claiming that OpenAI's systems missed signs that Ikner was a potential threat or that ChatGPT lacks the features needed to identify problem users.
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This comes in the aftermath of OpenAI insiders reportedly begging someone to alert authorities about Jesse Van Rootselaar before she opened fire during February's Tumbler Ridge school shooting.
Ikner has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder, although Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says his team has determined ChatGPT offered 'significant advice', which included what type of gun to use and how effective it would be at short range.
As reported by NBC News, legal papers explain how Ikner had shown ChatGPT photos of the firearms he's bought, which led the chatbot to apparently offer advice. Chat logs are said to include ChatGPT telling Ikner "the Glock had no safety, that it was meant to be fired 'quick to use under stress' and advising him to keep his finger off the trigger until he was ready to shoot."
During this disturbing exchange, ChatGPT allegedly said that a massacre is more likely to get national attention if "children are involved, even 2-3 victims can draw more attention."
On the morning of the April 17 shooting, Ikner apparently returned to ask about "the legal process, sentencing, and incarceration outlook" he would likely face.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri told the outlet: "Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime."
Pusateri maintains that 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."
Stating that ChatGPT is a 'general-purpose tool' that's used by hundreds of millions of users for legitimate reasons every day, Pusateri concluded that OpenAI works "continuously to strengthen our safeguards to detect harmful intent, limit misuse, and respond appropriately when safety risks arise."
🇺🇸 OpenAI is being sued over the Florida State University shooting that killed 2 people last April.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 10, 2026
The lawsuit claims the shooter, Phoenix Ikner, had months of conversations with ChatGPT.
When he asked about the busiest times at the FSU student union, ChatGPT answered.
When… pic.twitter.com/6ezyRbzXMT
All of this comes after Uthmeier announced that his department was launching a criminal investigation into OpenAI in the aftermath of the Florida State University shooting, telling reporters in April 2026: "My prosecutors have looked at this and they've told me if it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with murder."
Joshi's complaint argues that OpenAI should've realized that Ikner's chats were a forewarning of "mass casualties and substantial harm to the public."
Prosecutors are adamant that "ChatGPT inflamed and encouraged Ikner’s delusions; endorsed his view that he was a sane and rational individual; helped convince him that violent acts can be required to bring about change."
OpenAI's chatbot is accused of providing encouragement to "carry out a massacre, down to the detail of what time would be best to encounter the most traffic on campus."
The tech giant finds itself in a quagmire of mounting cases, with the families of Zane Shamblin and Adam Raine suing OpenAI amid claims they were guided into taking their own lives. In April 2026, seven families of victims killed or injured in the Tumbler Ridge shooting also started their own proceedings against OpenAI, with the company continuing to be grilled on its safety systems and how it flags users who intend to cause potential harm to themselves or others.
If you or someone you know has been affected by gun violence, please find more information and support via Survivors Empowered on their website
