Lawsuit says ChatGPT told FSU shooter that targeting children would bring more attention

FIRST ON NBC NEWSU.S. newsU.S. newsOpenAI sued over ChatGPT’s alleged role in guiding FSU shooterThe lawsuit claims the shooter carried out his attack using instructions and advice provided by ChatGPT.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Students hold a vigil near the scene of a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee in April 2025.Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 10, 2026, 5:36 PM EDTBy Angela Yang and Laura JarrettOpenAI is being sued by the family of a victim killed in the April 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University that left two people dead. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI’s ChatGPT enabled the attack.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Vandana Joshi, the widow of Tiru Chabba, who was killed alongside the university dining director Robert Morales, filed the federal lawsuit against OpenAI in Florida on Sunday.The complaint also names Phoenix Ikner, the man accused in the shooting, as a defendant, citing his “extensive conversations” with ChatGPT. The suit says that OpenAI failed to effectively detect a threat in ChatGPT’s conversations with Ikner, claiming the chatbot “either defectively failed to connect the dots or else was never properly designed to recognize the threat.”According to the complaint, Ikner, then a student at FSU, shared with ChatGPT images of firearms he had acquired. The chatbot then allegedly explained how to use them, “telling him 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.”Students are escorted out of the Florida State University student union after the mass shooting last year.Mishalynn Brown / Tallahssee Democrat via USA Today NetworkThe suit said Ikner began his attack at FSU by following the instructions.At one point, the lawsuit alleges, ChatGPT said that it’s much more likely for...