Two juveniles arrested in San Francisco after a Waymo robotaxi detected an armed passenger, stopped and summoned police.
Published
A Waymo robotaxi in San Francisco pulled over and called police on its own passengers Saturday, leading to the arrest of two juveniles in possession of a loaded AR-style ghost gun. The riders, who were taken to juvenile hall, were traveling in the autonomous vehicle when it detected a weapon and contacted law enforcement, according to a police report confirmed by Waymo to the Los Angeles Times. This appears to be the first documented case of an autonomous vehicle's safety system identifying a weapon and independently summoning police. Ghost guns are unserialized, privately made firearms that have proliferated across the United States despite attempts at regulation. Waymo, owned by Alphabet, operates robotaxis in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and other cities, and has faced previous incidents involving its vehicles but none involving weapon detection. The company declined to comment further on the specific security protocols that triggered the police call.
Sources: 1. ThisDay: FG, VGN Deepen Partnership on National Security, Economic Development — https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/09/13/fg-vgn-deepen-partnership-on-national-security-economic-development/ (src1) 2. The Verge: Waymo pulls over, calls cops on riders with a ghost gun — https://www.theverge.com/transportation/994405/waymo-pulls-over-calls-cops-on-riders-with-a-ghost-gun (src2) 3.