A man has been taken into custody following an alleged attack with a Molotov cocktail at the home of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, in San Francisco, the company confirmed.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, according to statements from both the San Francisco Police Department and OpenAI.
The episode occurred early Friday morning, around 4 a.m., when an individual reportedly hurled a firebomb at Altman’s residence in the Russian Hill neighborhood, igniting a blaze on an exterior gate, police reported.
The suspect fled the scene on foot, but police officers received a description of the individual shortly after the attack.
An hour later, at approximately 5 a.m., officers were called to OpenAI’s headquarters where a man was allegedly making threats to set a building on fire. Upon arrival, officers identified the man as the suspect involved in the earlier incident.
The suspect, a 20-year-old male, was subsequently arrested, with charges pending, according to police officials.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office told ABC News that it could be next week until decisions are made on whether it’s a local or federal case and charges are filed.
Sources briefed on the investigation told ABC News that investigators are trying to understand the incident and motive. It’s not yet clear if it was a mental health incident, a disgruntled current or former employee or some form of domestic terrorism, the sources said.
The company said the situation is under control and there is no immediate threat to its offices.
“We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe,” OpenAI said in a statement. “We’re assisting law enforcement with their investigation.”
Altman responded to the incident in a lengthy blog post on Friday, in which he shared a photo of his family “in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think about me.”
He said that amid debates on the Artificial General Intelligence industry, “we should de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally.”
The SFPD’s Special Investigations and Arson Units are leading the investigation, the company said. The FBI said it’s aware of the incident and is working with San Francisco police.
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