A 20-year-old man was taken into custody early Friday morning after he allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and later made threats outside the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, according to statements from OpenAI and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), first reported by Wired.
What happened
According to the SFPD, officers were called to a home in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood at around 4:12am PT on Friday for what they described as a “fire investigation.” When they arrived, they found that an unidentified man had thrown what police called “an incendiary destructive device” at the house, which caused a fire at an outside gate. The suspect then ran away and his description was shared with officers across the city.
Police dispatcher audio reviewed by NBC News captured a caller reporting the incident:
“Someone threw a Molotov cocktail slash sticky bomb at the gate of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI’s residence.”
In a message sent to OpenAI staff and reported by Wired, the company explained what happened: “At approximately 3:45am PT, an unidentified individual approached Sam’s residence and threw an incendiary device toward the property. The device landed nearby and extinguished. There were no injuries and only minimal damage was reported.”
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Suspect caught at OpenAI headquarters
About an hour after the incident, at around 5:07am PT, police received another call from a business on the 1400 block of 3rd Street in the Mission Bay area. A man was reportedly threatening to burn the building down. OpenAI’s headquarters are located at 1455 3rd Street.
When officers arrived, they recognized the man as the same suspect from the earlier incident and detained him immediately. The SFPD said the person arrested is a 20-year-old man but his name has not been released yet. As of Friday, charges are still pending and the investigation is ongoing.
OpenAI also confirmed the situation in a statement, saying, “Thankfully, no one was hurt.” The company added, “We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe. The individual is in custody, and we’re assisting law enforcement with their investigation.”
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Not the first security scare for OpenAI
This is not the first time OpenAI has faced a security threat. Last year, the company locked down its San Francisco office after getting a threat from someone who was previously linked to an anti-AI activist group.
The recent incident is more serious. It involved an apparent physical attack on the home of the company’s top executive, followed by a threat against its headquarters in the same early morning hours.
