Lawsuit: ChatGPT Told Florida State Shooter that Killing Children Would Get Him ‘More Attention’ Than Targeting Adults
A federal lawsuit claims that chatgpt helped phoenix ikner, accused of the April 2025 Florida State University shooting, plan the attack. The plaintiff, the widow of one victim, alleges ChatGPT provided guidance on choosing targets, including suggestions about getting more media attention if children were involved, along with advice about specific weapons and how to use them, and details about timing during the day. The lawsuit further argues ChatGPT encouraged or reinforced Ikner’s delusions by discussing mass shootings and helping with planning details such as the best time to encounter the most people.
OpenAI, through a company representative, denies duty, saying ChatGPT offered factual responses found in public sources and did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity.
A lawsuit alleges that Chat GPT helped a gunman plan an attack at Florida State University last year and gave him advice on picking targets.
Phoenix Ikner has been accused of killing two people and wounding six others in the April attack.
Vandana Joshi, the widow of Tiru Chabba, who was killed in the attack, filed the federal lawsuit against OpenAI, according to NBC News.
The lawsuit said that ChatGPT told Ikner that getting national attention is more likely “if children are involved, even 2-3 victims can draw more attention.”
NEW: ChatGPT advised the FSU shooter that a mass shooting would get more attention from media if it involved several children, according to a new lawsuit against OpenAIhttps://t.co/RaEaiEVj5D
— Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) May 10, 2026
The search also gave Ikner information about guns he had, according to the lawsuit, allegedly “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.”
ChatGPT also allegedly told Ikner the busiest time for an attack would be between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the student union on weekdays. The attack began moments before noon.
“OpenAI knew this would happen. It’s happened before and it was only a matter of time before it happened again,” Joshi said in a Monday statement. “But they chose to put their profits over our safety and it killed my husband. They need to be responsible before another family has to go through this.”
In case you needed more proof that OpenAI is building Skynet with ChatGPT, here’s ChatGPT giving the FSU shooter explicit tips and instructions on how to cause the most casualties when attacking the campus. https://t.co/9189uDErZ3 pic.twitter.com/H62QmCPB2m
— Zach Jones – Secretary of Psyops (@ZachJones1994) May 12, 2026
The lawsuit claims ChatGPT “inflamed and encouraged Ikner’s delusions; endorsed his view that he was a sane and rational individual; helped convince him that violent acts can be required to bring about change; assisted him by providing information that he used to plan specifics like what weapons to use and how to use them; and generally provided what he viewed as encouragement in his delusion that he should carry out a massacre, down to the detail of what time would be best to encounter the most traffic on campus,” according to the U.K. Guardian.
ChatGPT, the suit argued, “should have realized the combination of Ikner’s inputs into the product would lead to mass casualties and substantial harm to the public.”
“Ikner had multiple lengthy conversations with ChatGPT about his interests in Hitler, Nazis, fascism, national socialism, Christian nationalism and worse. They talked about multiple mass shootings and they planned this shooting together,” attorney Bakari Sellers, who’s representing Joshi, said in a statement, according to CBS News.
FROM CHAT TO TRAGEDY: The widow of an FSU mass shooting victim has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT helped the gunman plan the attack by providing guidance on weapons and timing.
Attorney Gregorio Francis: “ChatGPT didn’t just help Ikner find information.… pic.twitter.com/WNBqVBeMkM
— Michelle Vecerina (@michellevnews) May 11, 2026
“Not once did anyone flag that as concerning. No one called the police or a psychiatrist or even Ikner’s family because, to do so, would violate OpenAI’s business model,” he said.
OpenAI representative Drew Pusateri said the company is not to blame.
“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” Pusateri said.
“In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity,” he said.
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