Woman told her family she hated YouTube
Father called police to say his daughter might go to company
SAN BRUNO, CALIF. — A day before a woman opened fire at YouTube headquarters, her father said he warned police that his daughter was upset with the company’s handling of her videos and might be planning to go to its offices, but authorities say her relatives gave no indication she might turn violent.
Police also said that Nasim Aghdam, who wounded three people before killing herself, had visited a gun range before Tuesday’s attack. She entered a courtyard at YouTube’s main offices south of San Francisco, pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds.
The 39-yearold told family members that she believed the company was suppressing her videos, which included segments about veganism, animal cruelty and exercise, along with glamour shots of herself. A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that Aghdam had a long-standing dispute with YouTube. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the case, said Aghdam used the name “Nasime Sabz” online.
A website in that name decried YouTube’s policies and said the company was trying to “suppress” content creators. “Youtube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!” one of the messages on the site said. “There is no equal growth opportunity on YOUTUBE or any other video sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to !!!!! ”
People who post on YouTube can receive money from advertisements that accompany their videos, but the company “demonetizes” some channels for reasons including inappropriate material or having fewer than 1,000 subscribers.
Aghdam “hated” YouTube and was angry that the company stopped paying her for videos she posted, her father, Ismail Aghdam, told the Bay Area News Group. On Monday, he called police to report his daughter missing after she did not answer the phone for two days and told officers that she might go to YouTube, he said.
Officers in Mountain View — about 30 miles (48 kilometres) from YouTube’s headquarters — found her sleeping in her car in a parking lot around 2 a.m. Tuesday but let her go after she refused to answer their questions. Aghdam did not appear to be a threat to herself or others, police spokeswoman Katie Nelson said.
In social media posts on Wednesday, Mountain View police said that officers spoke to her family twice and at no time did her father or brother “mention anything about potential acts of violence” or the possibility that she would lash out because of the videos. Throughout a 20-minute conversation with officers, she appeared calm and explained that she had decided to leave her home because of family issues and said nothing about YouTube, police said.
The shooter got into the YouTube complex through a parking garage, San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said. Investigators do not believe the shooter targeted anyone in particular as she fired.
Two women wounded in the attack were released Wednesday from a San Francisco hospital. The third victim, a 36-year-old man, was upgraded from critical to serious condition.
YouTube employee Dianna Arnspiger said she was on the building’s second floor when she heard gunshots, ran to a window and saw the shooter on a patio outside.
“It was a woman and she was firing her gun. And I just said, ’Shooter,’ and everybody started running,” Arnspiger said. She and others hid in a conference room for an hour while another employee repeatedly called 911 for updates.
The world’s biggest online video site is owned by Google. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said in a tweet that the company would “come together to heal as a family.”