Security incident touches OpenAI HQ
Authorities say the suspect in the attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home also went to OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters, threatened to burn the building, and was detained there according to multiple reports. Coverage includes local and national outlets describing the suspect’s apparent mental‑health crisis and the threat at the HQ (pbs.org, )
A 20-year-old Texas man accused of attacking Sam Altman’s San Francisco home also went to OpenAI’s headquarters and threatened to burn the building, authorities said. (pbs.org) Prosecutors say Daniel Moreno-Gama threw an incendiary device at Altman’s Russian Hill residence around 4 a.m. on April 10, setting an exterior gate on fire before fleeing on foot. Less than an hour later, authorities said, he arrived at OpenAI’s Mission Bay headquarters about 3 miles away. (pbs.org) Federal investigators say Moreno-Gama tried to smash the glass doors with a chair and said he had come to burn down the building and kill anyone inside. He was arrested outside the office, according to the United States Department of Justice and local reporting. (justice.gov, kqed.org) The case quickly became larger than a property-damage investigation because San Francisco prosecutors charged Moreno-Gama with two counts of attempted murder, attempted arson and other felonies. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said one attempted-murder count covers Altman and the other covers a security guard at the house. (sfdistrictattorney.org, pbs.org) Federal authorities filed separate charges on April 13, alleging attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm. The criminal complaint says Moreno-Gama traveled from Spring, Texas, to San Francisco to target Altman and the company. (justice.gov) Investigators say they found additional incendiary devices, a jug of kerosene, a lighter and a document titled “Your Last Warning” when Moreno-Gama was arrested. The Department of Justice said the document argued against artificial intelligence and named other artificial-intelligence chief executives and investors. (justice.gov, kqed.org) OpenAI said on April 10 that “someone threw a Molotov cocktail” at Altman’s home and “also made threats” at its San Francisco headquarters. The company said no one was hurt and thanked San Francisco police for the response. (missionlocal.org) At a court hearing on April 14, Moreno-Gama’s public defender said he is autistic and was in an “acute mental health crisis” during the attack. Judge Kenneth Wine ordered him held without bail and set arraignment for May 5. (pbs.org, kqed.org) The defense called the case “a property crime, at best,” while Jenkins said prosecutors would have filed the same charges for “any average San Franciscan.” For now, the headquarters threat and the attack on Altman’s home are being handled as one planned case in both state and federal court. (pbs.org, kqed.org)
