Two teenagers learned the hard way that a robotaxi makes a lousy accomplice.
The pair were arrested in San Mateo, California, earlier this week after allegedly shooting Orbeez beads and drinking alcohol in the back of a Waymo self-driving vehicle, which promptly called police and parked in a lot until officers arrived.
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Local media reports place the two 15-year-olds in the Waymo on Monday afternoon, cruising the streets and leaning out the windows with realistic-looking guns as they allegedly fired small polymer Orbeez beads into the road.
It is unclear how Waymo was first alerted to the teenagers — whether the vehicle flagged the activity on its own, whether the in-car cameras caught it and pinged the nearest command center, or whether a witness called it in.
Whatever the case, Waymo pulled the vehicle into a parking lot so police could safely apprehend the duo.
Waymo vehicles carry internal cameras and microphones that may be used in an emergency or to promote safety and security, per the company's support page, though the firm says it does not use facial recognition or other biometric tools to identify riders.
The San Mateo Police Department responded and were shown approaching the driverless vehicle with their guns drawn prior to the arrests.
A Dramatic Arrest
“There was some ingenuity to this scheme, toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” police wrote in a Facebook post.
