Two Arrested for Shooting Near Sam Altman's Home

San Francisco police arrested two people early Sunday on suspicion of firing a gun near OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Russian Hill home, just 48 hours after a separate suspect allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at the same property.

Officers responded just before 3 a.m. Sunday to a report of gunfire outside Altman’s home, which spans the block between Chestnut and Lombard streets. Investigators said a Honda sedan drove past the property and a passenger fired a single round. Police tracked down the car’s owner, Amanda Tom, 25, and arrested her on nearby Taylor Street. Muhamad Tarik Hussein, 23, was also taken into custody. Both were booked on suspicion of negligent discharge of a gun. Officers served a search warrant at a Taylor Street residence and recovered three firearms.

Not a quiet week on the block.

Two days earlier, a 20-year-old man from Texas was booked in connection with a Molotov cocktail attack on Altman’s home in the early hours of Friday morning. He was identified as Daniel Moreno-Gama and faces charges including attempted murder, arson, making criminal threats, and possessing or manufacturing a destructive device. Prosecutors haven’t filed formal charges yet, but he remains in custody.

According to reporting from the Chronicle, online posts attributed to Moreno-Gama show he had spent weeks writing about fears surrounding artificial intelligence. He published essays on Substack, including one titled “A Eulogy for Man,” and was active in the Discord server of PauseAI, a group that advocates for halting advanced AI development. He expressed distrust of tech leaders, writing that many “lack strong morals,” and referenced warnings about AI dangers while also citing allegations involving Altman.

The attacks land during a stretch of unusually intense scrutiny for both Altman and OpenAI. Axios reported Thursday that OpenAI is finalizing an advanced cybersecurity model and restricting early access to a small group of companies, citing concerns about the tool’s hacking capabilities. And Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday that his office has launched a statewide investigation into OpenAI over allegations that ChatGPT may have been used in planning a mass shooting at Florida State University that killed two people. The investigation will look beyond that incident, Uthmeier said, examining whether AI tools could help criminals, aid foreign adversaries, or create broader national security risks.

“We support innovation, but that doesn’t give any company the right to endanger our children,” Uthmeier said. “AI should exist to supplement, support, and advance mankind, not lead to an existential crisis or our ultimate demise.”

The New Yorker also published a report last week compiling accounts from tech insiders who described Altman as deeply manipulative. The piece got wide circulation in the circles that spend their weekends arguing about AI governance on social media.

The thing is, the two attacks on Altman’s home appear to be unconnected. Police have not suggested any link between Moreno-Gama and the two people arrested Sunday. Still, the pattern is striking: two separate incidents, two separate sets of suspects, same address, same week.

Russian Hill residents near Chestnut and Lombard know the stretch well. It’s a dense, residential part of the neighborhood, the kind of block where foot traffic picks up on weekends and parking is always a fight. Gunfire at 3 a.m. in that area doesn’t stay quiet for long.

SFist first reported the firebomb attack and the subsequent arrest of Moreno-Gama, and their reporting informed parts of this story.

The San Francisco Police Department has not publicly said whether it is increasing any protective presence near the property. Altman has not commented publicly on either incident.