Canadian School Shooting Victim, 12, Remains Unable to Speak After AI-Assisted Attack
A 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head during a horrific school shooting in Canada remains unable to speak or see two months after the devastating incident. Maya Gebala, aged 12, is still fighting for her life in hospital, suffering from catastrophic injuries sustained when she was shot three times during the rampage.
Deadly Shooting Planned with AI Assistance
On February 10, the shooting at a secondary school in a remote north-eastern corner of British Columbia claimed the lives of five innocent pupils and a teacher, leaving several others fighting for survival. The perpetrator, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, had murdered their mother and half-brother before opening fire at the school, subsequently taking their own life. The tragedy proved to be one of the deadliest shootings in Canadian history.
What makes this case particularly disturbing is that Van Rootselaar had been using ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot, to assist in planning the shooting. According to legal documents, the teenager confided in the chatbot, treating it as a "trusted confidante," and detailed "various scenarios involving gun violence" over multiple days in late spring or early summer of the previous year.
Family Pursues Legal Action Against OpenAI
Maya Gebala's parents, along with Bob Zimmer, a Member of the House of Commons of Canada, are now working to pursue legal action against ChatGPT's parent company, OpenAI. They allege the service failed to notify authorities despite clear warning signs and that the tragedy could have been prevented with earlier action.
The lawsuit claims that Van Rootselaar created a ChatGPT account before reaching the age of 18, which requires parental consent, but that the platform failed to verify their age. Furthermore, OpenAI suspended an initial ChatGPT account used by the suspect in June 2025 due to the deeply concerning nature of their conversations with the chatbot; however, Canadian police were never notified of the ban.
"There were so many red flags and so many preventative things that could have been done to prevent the tragedy," Zimmer told the Sun. "We will leave no stone unturned."
Multiple Failures in AI Safety Protocols
According to the legal action, twelve OpenAI employees reportedly flagged the conversations as "indicating an imminent risk of serious harm to others" and recommended that Canadian law enforcement be contacted to investigate, yet they never were. The lawsuit further alleges that Van Rootselaar subsequently opened a second ChatGPT account despite the ban, which allowed them to "continue planning scenarios involving gun violence."
OpenAI has informed the BBC that it is committed to making "meaningful changes" to help avoid similar tragedies occurring in the future, but for Maya Gebala's family, these assurances come too late.
Heroic Actions and Catastrophic Injuries
Maya Gebala was reportedly attempting to shield her classmates by trying to lock the doors to the school library to prevent the shooter from gaining entry when she was shot. According to the lawsuit, she was shot three times—one bullet passed through her head above her left eye, another entered her neck, and a third grazed her cheek and part of her ear.
She is suffering from catastrophic traumatic brain injury, permanent cognitive and physical disability, right-sided hemiplegia, scarring, and physical deformities. More than two months after the shooting, she remains hospitalised and is reportedly in a stable condition, with plans to travel to Los Angeles for specialist treatment.
Her mother, Cia Edmonds, shared a photo from hospital as she prayed for a miracle after doctors told her the little girl wouldn't last the night. The victim's family and political figures continue to demand answers about whether this tragedy could have been prevented and are determined to obtain justice for all victims.
