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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A Waymo vehicle was vandalized and set on fire Saturday night in Chinatown, the San Francisco Fire Department announced. Several Lunar New Year celebrations took place in Chinatown.
A Waymo spokesperson told KRON4, “At approximately 9 PM on Saturday, February 10th, a fully autonomous Waymo vehicle was navigating on Jackson Street in San Francisco when a crowd surrounded and vandalized the vehicle, breaking the window and throwing a firework inside, which set the vehicle on fire. The vehicle was not transporting any riders and no injuries have been reported. We are working closely with local safety officials to respond to the situation.”
The Waymo was surrounded by an unknown amount of people, had graffiti sprayed on the car and had its windows broken, SFFD said. A firework lit inside of the Waymo, causing it the burst into flames.
SFFD posted photos of the damage done to the Waymo (below). At this time, no injuries have been reported.
KRON4 drove by the scene around 11:45 p.m., which has since cleared. SFFD tweeted about the incident at 11:30 p.m., although it is unknown what time the Waymo was vandalized.
Waymo is an autonomous vehicle company that offers services in San Francisco. No other information was immediately available.
This story will be updated as KRON4 learns more.