Sam Altman’s home hit by Molotov cocktail, OpenAI CEO shares rare family photo in first reaction — ‘We try to be…’
San Francisco police arrested a 20-year-old man on Friday for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at the city home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and making threats outside the artificial intelligence startup’s headquarters, the AI company said Friday.
Later in the day, Sam Altman shared a rare photo of his family as his first reaction following the arrest of a man who threw a Molotov cocktail at his California home where he lived with his wife and child.
In a post on The suspect set fire to the exterior door of the building and then fled on foot.
“At approximately 5:07 a.m., SFPD officers received a report of an unidentified male subject threatening to burn down a building in the 1400 block of 3rd Avenue. Upon arrival, officers recognized this male as the suspect from the previous incident and immediately took him into custody,” the police department said.
Police said they determined probable cause to arrest the man during the initial investigation, but did not share exactly what it was. Detailed investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
But the suspect’s attack and threat to set fire to OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters come as Altman’s profile has risen amid the growing use of artificial intelligence, amid fears it could drastically disrupt employment patterns and cause irreversible societal changes.
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the attack on the CEO’s residence and threats to its San Francisco headquarters.
“Fortunately, no one was injured. We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city to help keep our employees safe,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company was assisting law enforcement with their investigation.
Sam Altman broke his silence
Hours after the incident, Sam Altman broke his silence by sharing a rare photo of his family on a blog.
In his blog post on X, Altman wrote, “Here is a photo of my family. I love them more than anything,” along with a photo of his partner and child.
He said he hopes the image will embolden the next potential person to attack his home.
“I hope images have power. Normally we try to be pretty private, but in this case, I’m sharing a photo in the hopes that it will deter the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think of me,” the OpenAI CEO wrote.
He noted that the Molotov cocktail thrown into his house “ricocheted” and did not harm anyone.
“Words have power, too. There was a provocative article about me a few days ago. Yesterday someone told me that this came at a time when there was great concern about artificial intelligence and thought it made things more dangerous for me. I pushed that aside,” Altman said.
“Now I’m awake in the middle of the night and I’m angry and I think I underestimated the power of words and narratives,” she added.
The incident comes at a time when OpenAI is facing intense pressure. The company recently faced backlash for striking a deal with the US government that would allow it to use its technology in covert military operations
