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Incident · Injury

Knightscope K5 security robot knocked down and ran over a toddler at Stanford Shopping Center (2016)

In July 2016 a Knightscope K5 autonomous security robot patrolling Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California struck a 16-month-old toddler, knocking him down, bruising his leg, and running over one foot. Knightscope called it a 'freakish accident.' An early, widely cited public-space security-robot injury.

Occurred 2016-07-07 · Knightscope

Track Knightscope K5 security robot knocked down and ran over a toddler at Stanford Shopping Center (2016)

Machine-readable surfaces

Sources (1)

  1. Palo Alto Online · https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/07/13/parents-upset-after-stanford-shopping-center-security-robot-knocks-down-child/

Common questions

What happened in Knightscope K5 security robot knocked down and ran over a toddler at Stanford Shopping Center (2016)?
In July 2016 a Knightscope K5 autonomous security robot patrolling Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California struck a 16-month-old toddler, knocking him down, bruising his leg, and running over one foot. Knightscope called it a 'freakish accident.' An early, widely cited public-space security-robot injury.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on July 7, 2016 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
Who was involved in Knightscope K5 security robot knocked down and ran over a toddler at Stanford Shopping Center (2016)?
The incident is recorded as involving Knightscope on the DEPLOY registry. No specific robot model is linked to this incident in the registry.
Has anyone responded to Knightscope K5 security robot knocked down and ran over a toddler at Stanford Shopping Center (2016)?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of Knightscope K5 security robot knocked down and ran over a toddler at Stanford Shopping Center (2016)?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Unreviewed · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-06-24

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-06-24

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Knightscope K5 security robot knocked down and ran over a toddler at Stanford Shopping Center (2016).

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Canonical ID f2318495-c885-4e2b-9e12-319f3502621f