Google-owned Waymo on suspending service in LA protests: 'We do not believe...'

Google-owned

Waymo

has suspended service in downtown Los Angeles after multiple self-driving cars were vandalised and set on fire during recent

anti-ICE protests

. Several videos and photos captured and shared on social media showed electric, self-driving Waymo cars engulfed in flames, with one of the protestors further vandalising a car. One of the videos also captured the charred remains of five Waymo vehicles scattered across a Los Angeles street. A spokesperson for the ride-hailing service told CBS MoneyWatch that Waymo has removed its vehicles from downtown Los Angeles and suspended service in the affected area as a precaution. However, the company confirmed that it continues to operate in other parts of the city.

What Waymo said about suspending services in parts of LA

In an email statement sent to CBS, the Waymo spokesperson wrote: “We do not believe our vehicles were intentionally targeted, but rather happened to be present during the protests.”Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, operates its autonomous ride-hailing service not only in Los Angeles but also in Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area, the company’s website notesApart from setting Waymo cars on fire, protesters also damaged and looted several businesses, including Jordan Studio 23, a sporting goods store in downtown LS, along with a T-Mobile and an Adidas store, CBS Los Angeles reported.Protests in California's capital began last week after ICE raids in the Los Angeles Fashion District and intensified later, following US President Donald Trump's decision to deploy at least 300 US National Guard troops to the city, a move that California Governor Gavin Newsom has called illegal.According to a CBS report, it took some time for the Los Angeles Police Department to reach the chaotic scene.After the incident, the LAPD has urged businesses in the area to report any damage to the police.“Please photograph all vandalism and damage prior to clean up,” the department posted on its X account.