OpenAI Global and founder Sam Altman face a lawsuit related to the Tumbler Ridge school shooting

TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C. — Tech firm OpenAI Global and its founder, Sam Altman, are facing several lawsuits that are related to the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School mass shooting. 

According to the Canadian Press, seven lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI Global and Sam Altman for their alleged role in the shooting that happened earlier this year. 

Eight people were shot and killed by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who also died, on February 10th at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and at a residence nearby. 

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who was airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver after suffering gunshot wounds to her head and neck during the shooting, the parents of the two child victims and the husband of the educational assistant who was killed. 

The lawsuits from the victims of the shooting include: 

Abel Mwansa Junior, 12 years old

Abel was shot in the hand, leg and chest, and he bled out from an exit wound in his back for approximately 45 minutes before he died. 

The 12-year-old told his classmate, who tried to protect him, to tell his mom and dad that “I love them”. 

Posting about his loss on Facebook on February 11th, Abel Mwansa Senior wrote: “Seeing you leaving the house with that beautiful smile while going to Tumbler Ridge high school was so refreshing.” 

“This is because I saw a bright future, a leader, an engineer, and also a scientist in you, because you loved doing experiments with explanation.”

“Rest in peace, son… together with your fellow innocent victims.”

Ezekiel Schofield, 13 years old

13-year-old Schofield was shot dead outside the school’s library. 

His parents, Timm and Rebekah Schofield, started his lawsuit, which said Schofield was “an avid hockey player who aspired to become a software developer and artist. 

“The Schofields will never see E.S reach 14, finish building the video game he was working on, or reach any of the milestones they had been waiting for,” the lawsuit says. “His family, friends, teammates and fellow community members have lost someone with a larger-than-life smile and a loud-and-proud laugh.” 

Kylie Smith, 12 years old

Smith’s lawsuit was initiated by her legal guardians, Lance Younge and Jennifer Geary. 

The lawsuit said Smith’s older brother, identified as E.S called Younge and Geary from a utility closet, telling them what was happening. 

E.S said there was a shooter in the school, that he loved them, and he did not know where Smith was. 

He also told them not to come to the school. 

Teachers and students “desperately tried to save her life for approximately 45 minutes, but she died of bullet wounds to her head, jaw and abdomen.

Maya Gebala, 12 years old 

Gebala was shot as she tried to lock the library door to save other kids and keep the shooter out. She was pulled under a table by another student, along with Abel Mwansa Junior. 

She has been scheduled to have surgery on May 5th for a prosthetic skull cap. 

Gebala’s mother, Cia Edmonds, in an update on Gebala’s GoFundMe page, said that although Gebala’s motor skills are improving, her right arm and leg still don’t work, indicative of a stroke. 

The lawsuit says the bullet struck Gebala’s skull and “shattered her bone fragment through her brain.”  

She has undergone several surgeries so far.

Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39 years old

The educational assistant’s lawsuit was initiated by her husband, Mark Stacey. 

Aviugana-Durand was shot in front of her students in the library of the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

The lawsuit says the students include Aviugana-Durand’s daughter, who “saw her mother killed in front of her.” 

Aviugana-Durand was shot as she tried to stop the shooter from harming others. 

Ticaria (Tiki) Lampert, 12 years old

Sarah Lampert, Ticaria’s mother, said she raced to the school the moment she heard about the shooting and begged to be let inside. 

Sarah was told that her daughter was dead, and she had pleaded with the police to be let in, the lawsuit said. 

The next day, although the police initially refused to let Sarah see her daughter, they eventually relented. 

Ticaria could only be identified through her clothes, as her body was “badly” damaged by the bullets. 

Zoey Renee Anne Benoit, 12 years old 

Benoit’s mother, Lori Hayer, said in her lawsuit that Benoit was found dead inside the door of the library. 

The lawsuit said: “The bullets severely damaged her small body. The next day, her family was brought to see her in a closed body bag. They told her they loved her and said goodbye.” 

Benoit was described in the lawsuit as a “strong-willed free thinker”. 

“Z.B. was beautiful and smart, loved to sing, and dreamed of being an artist in Vancouver. In the weeks before Feb. 10, 2026, she devoted herself to painting a single canvas full of butterflies, foxes, cows, and flowers,” it said. 

This article was published with files from The Canadian Press.