Two 15-year-old kids who were allegedly drinking alcohol in the San Francisco Bay Area and shooting water bead guns were detained by police on Monday, according to the San Mateo Police Department. This story of juvenile delinquency normally wouldn’t be particularly notable, except that the kids were in a Waymo and the cops say the robotaxi company called the authorities, leading to questions about what kind of surveillance passengers should expect in the emerging world of autonomous vehicles.
“After calling us and stopping the car, we were able to safely remove both subjects and determined they were shooting Orbeez from the car as they sipped on afternoon libations while being chauffeured around town in the driverless vehicle,” the San Mateo Police Department wrote on Facebook.
It’s unclear what the kids were targeting with their Orbeez guns, also known as gel blasters, which fire water pellets. But it prompted a Waymo employee monitoring the vehicle to call 911, according to NBC Bay Area. The Waymo monitor also “reported seeing a recoil,” according to the local TV news outlet.
“While there was some ingenuity to this scheme, toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” the police continued in their Facebook statement. “The simple handling of them can cause fear in passerby’s [sic] or to those who don’t get a good look. Shooting projectiles at speed can cause real damage. And lest not forget the underage drinking. All bad ideas today for these two.”
The cops did credit the kids with hailing a robotaxi, given the fact that they were drinking.
“Well, the Waymo might have been the smartest idea yet, because driving impaired would’ve made this so much worse,” the Facebook post concluded.
Waymo, which is owned by Alphabet, remotely disabled the vehicle while calling the police and lied to the kids by saying they were experiencing mechanical trouble, according to NBC Bay Area. That was an apparent effort to keep the kids from leaving the scene.
Waymo touts its safety record, previously providing statistics about how its robotic cars are better than human drivers. Other safety factors tend to get less attention, such as the safety for those inside the vehicle in ways that may not be related to motor vehicle accidents. A Los Angeles woman found a man hiding in the trunk of a Waymo in late 2025, though it was unclear why he was there.
Orbeez guns can look like real firearms to people from a distance, and passengers in any Waymo vehicle should expect that they’re being monitored at all times. But Waymo’s actions will no doubt raise questions about when autonomous taxi companies will intervene in a situation that may or may not be dangerous.
Gizmodo reached out to Waymo to ask about what other situations the company may believe warrant intervention by the police. For example, it’s unclear if the use of illegal drugs in a Waymo vehicle is something that would necessitate a response from a security monitor. Waymo didn’t immediately respond. Gizmodo will update this article if we hear back.
Waymo announced Wednesday it will soon begin operations in four new cities: San Diego, Las Vegas, Tampa, and Denver. The service in those cities will start with Alphabet employees but will soon expand to the broader public.
