Overview
- Vandana Joshi filed the federal lawsuit Sunday in Tallahassee, accusing OpenAI and the accused gunman of using ChatGPT to plan the April 2025 Florida State University attack.
- The complaint cites more than 16,000 chats in which the bot identified firearms from photos, explained how to fire a Glock, discussed peak lunchtime at the student union, and described how victim counts or involving children can draw national media attention.
- OpenAI denies liability, saying ChatGPT gave factual information available online, says it flagged an account tied to the suspect after the shooting and shared it with police, and says it has strengthened safeguards to detect harmful intent.
- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened a criminal investigation in April 2026, issuing subpoenas for OpenAI’s policies and records and saying that, if a person had given the same advice, they would face murder charges.
- The accused shooter, Phoenix Ikner, has pleaded not guilty and is set for an October 2026 trial, and the suit joins a growing docket that includes Canadian cases challenging whether Section 230 shields AI makers from product‑liability and wrongful‑death claims.