The home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was struck by gunfire on Sunday morning, just two days after a man was arrested for allegedly striking it with a Molotov cocktail.
The San Francisco Police department said two individuals were arrested for firing shots at Altman’s residence, but it is unclear if it was deliberately targeted for being the home of the tech entrepreneur.
Amanda Tom, 25, and Muhamad Tarik Hussein, 23, were arrested at a separate San Francisco residence where three firearms were seized, police said.
The Sunday incident follows a separate attack with a Molotov cocktail on Friday morning, when someone “threw an incendiary destructive device” at the house, sparking a fire on an exterior gate, police said. Nobody was hurt.
The Friday suspect fled on foot, but police said his description was circled among officers.
Less than an hour later, officers were called to the headquarters of OpenAI, where a man “recognized to be the same male suspect from the earlier incident” was allegedly threatening to burn down a building, police said.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office told ABC News that it could be another week until decisions are made on whether the suspect, aged 20, is to face a local or federal case and charges are filed.
Sources briefed on the investigation told the network that investigators are still attempting to identify a motive for the episode.
It is still unclear whether it might have been a mental health incident, the work of a disgruntled current or former employee, or some form of domestic terrorism, the sources said.
In a statement, OpenAI said: “We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe.”
Altman responded to the incident in a lengthy post on his personal blog, 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 he was growing increasingly aware of the intensity of debate surrounding Artificial Generative Intelligence.
“There was an incendiary article about me a few days ago. Someone said to me yesterday they thought it was coming at a time of great anxiety about AI and that it made things more dangerous for me. I brushed it aside.”
“Now I am awake in the middle of the night and p***ed, and thinking that I have underestimated the power of words and narratives,” he added.
On April 6, The New Yorker published an article entitled ‘Sam Altman may control our future – can he be trusted?’ which focused on the “persistent doubts about the head of OpenAI.”
The SFPD’s Special Investigations and Arson Units are leading the investigation, OpenAI said. The FBI said it’s aware of the event and is working with San Francisco police.
