Security incidents target AI leaders

A 20-year-old Texas man accused of firebombing Sam Altman’s San Francisco home had a document listing other artificial intelligence executives and officials, according to court filings and news reports. (justice.gov, nytimes.com, nbcnews.com) Federal prosecutors said Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, of Spring, Texas, threw a Molotov cocktail at a San Francisco residence on April 10, 2026, then went to OpenAI’s headquarters and tried to ignite the building there. The United States Attorney’s Office said he was charged federally with attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm. (justice.gov) San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said on April 14 that Moreno-Gama also faces state charges including two counts of attempted murder, one tied to Altman and one tied to a security guard at the house. The district attorney’s office asked that he be held without bail, and his arraignment was delayed. (apnews.com, cnbc.com, courthousenews.com) Court documents said investigators found writings expressing opposition to artificial intelligence and to executives running artificial intelligence companies. NBC News reported the filing described a document that “identified views opposed to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the executives of various AI companies.” (nbcnews.com, justice.gov) The case widened on April 12, when San Francisco police responded at about 2:56 a.m. to a report of possible shots fired near Altman’s Russian Hill residence. Two people were arrested after officers linked a vehicle to the incident, according to police statements cited by local outlets and Gizmodo. (gizmodo.com, nbcbayarea.com, abc7.com) Police have not publicly said whether the gunfire incident was targeted, and the San Francisco Police Department said investigators were examining all aspects of the case. Gizmodo and other outlets reported the second incident happened less than 48 hours after the Molotov attack. (nbcbayarea.com, gizmodo.com, usatoday.com) OpenAI said after the April 10 attack that no one was hurt and that the company was assisting law enforcement. The company also said the suspect made threats at its San Francisco headquarters. (gizmodo.com) Moreno-Gama’s public defender said he has autism and was in an “acute mental health crisis” at the time of the alleged attack. That defense argument is now running alongside prosecutors’ claim that he traveled from Texas to California with a plan to target Altman and OpenAI. (apnews.com, justice.gov) The attacks landed in a city where OpenAI and many other artificial intelligence firms are concentrated within a few miles of one another. That concentration has made a dispute over one company leader’s security into a broader law-enforcement concern around the people building the industry. (sfchronicle.com, nytimes.com) Moreno-Gama’s next court appearances will determine how the federal explosives case and the state attempted-murder case move forward. The parallel investigations into the April 10 firebombing and the April 12 gunfire report are still unfolding. (justice.gov, apnews.com, nbcbayarea.com)