By: Eugene Upah
A ride in a robotaxi ended in a police standoff after the self-driving car itself reported its passengers for underage drinking and shooting at pedestrians.
The incident happened on Monday afternoon, July 7, 2026, in San Mateo, California. According to the San Mateo Police Department, a Waymo driverless taxi contacted police after its internal monitoring systems detected two 15-year-olds drinking alcohol and firing projectiles from the vehicle.
Police said the teens were using realistic-looking toy guns to shoot Orbeez; a small, water-absorbing gel beads out the windows at passersby while being chauffeured around town.
Instead of completing the trip, Waymo’s operations team took remote control of the vehicle. Officers said Waymo told the teens a ruse that the car was “experiencing mechanical trouble” and disabled it in a shopping center parking lot near El Camino Real and Highway 92 to allow police to get into position.
A video posted by police shows at least five officers and a K-9 unit approaching the stopped Waymo with weapons drawn, treating it initially as a high-risk stop because the guns looked real.
“Parents do you know where your teens are? Waymo does!” the Police Department wrote on Facebook after the arrest. “Two 15 year olds up to trouble in a Waymo this afternoon were detained after Waymo reported they were drinking and shooting from the vehicle.”
Both teens were removed and found to be intoxicated. No one was injured. They were later released to their parents while the case was forwarded to the District Attorney for possible charges of underage drinking and threatening behavior.
Police defended the heavy response, saying “Toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye. The simple handling of them can cause fear in passersby.” They added that even Orbeez can cause real damage when fired at speed from a moving car.
The case has reignited the debate over privacy in autonomous vehicles. Waymo says all its vehicles have interior cameras and microphones that may be used to “promote safety and security” and that in “urgent circumstances, support may access live video during a trip,” but that it does not use facial recognition.
On social media, reactions were mixed. While some praised the intervention, one commenter accused Waymo of “snitching” and another joked, “At least they got a designated driver”.
