Female suspect dead after gun attack at YouTube HQ
A WOMAN has opened fire at YouTube’s global headquarters in Silicon Valley, shooting three people before killing herself, police said.
Chief Ed Barberini of San Bruno police said that the three victims suffered from “treatable injuries”. Two were shot “at an adjacent business”.
A 32-year-old female was described as being in a serious condition; a 27-year-old female was in a fair condition, and a 36-year-old male was described as being in a critical condition byCNN.
Fox News reported that one of the victims was the shooter’s boyfriend.
A local hospital confirmed to Fox News it was receiving “multiple patients” but did not give any details of numbers or injuries.
Stanford Hospital in northern California said it had received four or five patients.
An official in San Bruno, California, told local television that there had been “multiple 911 calls” and police were asking local people to avoid the area.
In a statement, San Bruno police said: “We are working in an active investigation at
YouTube. We’re asking that you just follow us on social media for any updates.”
Todd Sherman, a product manager in the building, wrote on Twitter: “We were sitting in a meeting and then we heard people running because it was rumbling the floor. First thought was earthquake.”
On the way out of the building he “looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs”.
He added: “Police cruisers pulled up, hopped out with rifles ready and I told them where the situation was.”
Vadim Lavrusik, a YouTube employee, tweeted that he and his colleagues were inside the
offices and saw people running and barricaded themselves inside the offices.
After around 20 minutes he tweeted again to say that he had been evacuated, and footage from helicopters showed hundreds of employees leaving the sprawling campus, being checked for weapons as they went.
“I was on a video conference with someone in the building when it happened,” one woman, who did not want to be identified, told CNN.
“We were suddenly aware of people running and screaming. The people on the video conference became scared and said: ‘I
have to get out of here’.”
A female bystander told KTVU television: “I heard boom, boom, boom. Then I heard it again. It was loud and then like it was going away.”
Breaking down, she added: “I’m having a hard time. Don’t get me started on guns.”
In a statement Google, which owns YouTube, said: “Regarding the YouTube situation, we are coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available.”
The San Bruno offices house 1,700 employees in a largely open-plan environment, in four different buildings.
YouTube employees can work from treadmill desks, travel around the campus by scooter and bring their dogs to work.
The campus also has a lap pool and a putting green for employees to use. There is security at all the buildings, the employee told CNN.
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said Donald Trump had been briefed and the administration was monitoring the situation.
YouTube announced last month that it would ban content promoting the sale of guns and gun accessories as well as videos that teach how to make guns.