Waymo alerts police to illegal firearm in autonomous vehicle

Two minors were arrested in San Francisco after a Waymo autonomous vehicle detected a firearm violation and alerted authorities. The incident occurred in the Richmond District shortly before 4 a.m. on September 3.

Waymo reported a “violation of our terms of service involving a firearm,” prompting the company to pull the vehicle over and cooperate with the San Francisco Police Department. Upon conducting a high-risk vehicle stop, officers recovered a loaded, AR-style “ghost gun” that lacked a serial number. Additionally, police reported finding suspected marijuana and mace spray inside the robotaxi.

The two juvenile passengers, a boy and a girl, were taken into custody and booked into the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Center on charges related to illegal firearm possession. This event follows a similar incident in July where Waymo alerted San Mateo police regarding teenagers drinking and using toy guns inside a self-driving vehicle.

The incident has raised discussions regarding the role of autonomous vehicle companies in monitoring passenger behavior and the privacy expectations of riders in driverless technology.