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One of the students who was injured in the 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University is suing OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, over its use by the accused gunman in the run-up to his attack.
Reese Gourley, who was shot in the back as she tried to run away from the shooter, filed the lawsuit Aug. 26 in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee. The 71-page complaint includes claims of gross negligence, strict products liability and aiding and abetting.
It’s the second such lawsuit filed against the AI tech giant in connection with the shooting, which left two people dead and five injured. In May, the family of Tiru Chabba filed a federal lawsuit in Tallahassee that was believed to be the first of its kind involving the mass shooting.
Phoenix Ikner, 22, the alleged gunman, was shot and “neutralized” by an FSU police officer only three minutes into his rampage. He faced two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder, two of which involved people he shot at but missed.
His conversations with ChatGPT surfaced earlier this year as discovery evidence was exchanged in Ikner’s trial, which was recently rescheduled for June. Ikner asked the chatbot about various campus shooting scenarios and how he could maximize carnage and publicity.
Gourley’s lawsuit says the shooter’s attack was “was carefully planned with the sycophantic assistance of his favorite chatbot — ChatGPT.” They talked extensively about suicide, mass shootings, political violence, notoriety and FSU’s campus, with the chatbot going so far as offering to pray for him at one point.
“ChatGPT even identified weapons the shooter uploaded, described how to operate them, explained firearm-safety mechanisms, discussed lethality, discussed the number of victims needed to obtain national attention, identified busy times at the FSU Student Union, and answered questions about what would happen if there were a mass shooting specifically at FSU,” the complaint says.
The lawsuit alleges that in the months leading up to the April 17, 2025, mass shooting, the alleged gunman, then an FSU student, used ChatGPT “as his primary outlet for his most intimate thoughts, fears and very dark ideation.”
The conversations revealed not only his interests but also his emotional state, political ideologies, loneliness, mental-health struggles, social rejection, fixation on guns and interest in mass shootings, the complaint says.
Ikner, who is referred to only as “the shooter” in the lawsuit, told the chatbot that he experienced “frequent rejection” in attempted romantic relationships and that he had been bullied and felt like he didn’t “fit in.”
“ChatGPT responded in friendly, flattering, affirming, and supportive ways, creating and reinforcing a perceived supportive relationship,” the complaint says. “ChatGPT helped the shooter with homework, workout routines, relationship advice, style advice, and other personal subjects. ChatGPT even offered to pray for the shooter.”
Gourley, who was shot outside the Student Union, suffered “serious physical injury, emotional trauma, pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of enjoyment of life and other damages” because of the shooting, the lawsuit says. One or more of her injuries are permanent.”
Tallahassee attorney Carrie Roane, a partner with the Fasig | Brooks firm, is representing Gourley.
Attorneys for Chabba’s family made similar allegations in their lawsuit against OpenAI, saying the chatbot and Ikner “bonded” before the shooting. Chabba, 45, was a regional vice president for FSU dining vendor Aramark who was visiting campus the day of shooting.
Robert Morales, 57, a restaurateur who served as dining coordinator at FSU, also was killed in the shooting. Ryan Hobbs, a Tallahassee attorney representing his widow, told the Democrat in April that they are preparing a lawsuit against OpenAI and ChatGPT.
After reports of Ikner’s chatbot talks surfaced, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced he was launching a criminal investigation into ChatGPT, likening it to an actual accused murderer.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
