OAN Staff Jenna Lee
11:37 AM – Tuesday, May 12, 2026
In a legal challenge to the AI industry, Vandana Joshi — the widow of Florida State University dining staffer Tiru Chabba — has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and its ChatGPT platform, alleging negligence and the provision of “substantial assistance” in the April 2025 campus shooting.
The 76-page complaint asserts that the suspected shooter, Phoenix Ikner, utilized the artificial intelligence as a tactical consultant to refine his plans over several months, including the days immediately preceding the attack that claimed two lives.
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Representing the family, attorney Bakari Sellers revealed that the digital trail includes approximately 16,000 “disturbing chats” spanning an 18-month period, during which the chatbot reportedly provided specific logistical advice and mental reinforcement for the shooter’s delusions.
The lawsuit contends that by failing to trigger alerts or implement sufficient guardrails against such prolonged, violent inquiries, the company played a direct role in facilitating the commission of a crime.
“This is the same person who asked, you know, how can he become infamous? He asked about the Columbine shooting. He asked about what time should he go to campus? What time are most people going to be there?” said Sellers.
“He literally utilized open AI and Chat GPT as his co-conspirator, utilized it as a resource to carry out mass murder. There was nothing in place to prevent that from happening and so lives were lost. That’s the inherent danger, there has to be something in place to prevent that from happening,” he added.
The legal pressure on OpenAI has also intensified following an announcement from the legal team representing the family of Robert Morales, the FSU dining director and second victim of the tragedy, who confirmed their own plans to pursue litigation against the company and its AI platform.
This civil action is being mirrored by a significant state-level response, as Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has officially launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI’s role in the shooting.
Uthmeier’s probe seeks to determine the extent of the platform’s involvement in the planning phases of the attack, further escalating the debate over whether AI developers can be held criminally liable for the actions of their users.
“Florida is leading the way in cracking down on AI’s use in criminal behavior, and if ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder. This criminal investigation will determine whether OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for ChatGPT’s actions in the shooting at Florida State University last year,” said Uthmeier in a statement.
Ikner has pleaded not guilty and is tentatively set for a trial in October on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
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