Family of man killed in shooting at Florida State University to sue ChatGPT and OpenAI

The family of a man who was killed at Florida State University last year plans to sue ChatGPT and its parent organization, OpenAI, for allegedly telling the accused gunman how to carry out the mass shooting.Lawyers for the family of Robert Morales wrote in a statement they had learned the shooter was in “constant communication with ChatGPT” ahead of the shooting, and that the chatbot “may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes”.Morales was a former high school football coach who, at the time of the shooting on 17 April 2025, was working at Florida State as the university dining program manager. He was 57. His obituary described him as “a man of quiet brilliance and many gifts”. “Robert’s life was ended by what can only be described as an act of violence and hate. He should be with us today,” the obituary said. “But if Robert were here he would not want us to dwell in anger. He would want us to focus on the small, steady acts of love that defined him and that keep him with us now.”Forty-five-year old Tiru Chabba was also killed in the shooting and six others were injured. The trial for the alleged shooter is set to begin in October.The Morales family’s expected suit is not the first time an AI chatbot has been implicated in a death.Several lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI and Google for the roles their chatbots allegedly played in encouraging people to take their and other people’s lives.In November, the Social Media Victims Law Center filed seven lawsuits against ChatGPT for allegedly acting as a “suicide coach” for people who originally started using the chatbot for help with homework, recipes and research. The following month, OpenAI and Microsoft were sued on behalf of a woman who was killed by her son in a murder-suicide. The lawsuit claims that the chatbot helped fuel the son’s delusions.And in March, the family of a 12-year-old who was severely injured in a shooting at a secondary school in British Columbia sued OpenAI for allegedly failing to warn law enforcement about disturbing messages the shooter had been exchanging with it. Seven people, including the shooter, were killed at the school, and another two people, who authorities believe were killed in connection with the same incident, were found dead at a residence nearby. Dozens of others were injured.In a statement to the Guardian about the Florida State case, OpenAI said it found an account they believe belonged to the suspected shooter and it has shared all available information with law enforcement.“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating tragedy … We built ChatGPT to understand people’s intent and respond in a safe and appropriate way, and we continue improving our technology,” the company said.