Three injured by shooter at YouTube HQ
Motive of shooter, who took her own life, under investigation by police
SAN BRUNO — A woman opened fire at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, shooting three people with a handgun before taking her own life and causing widespread panic in the technology hub south of San Francisco.
A law enforcement source identified the alleged shooter as Nasim Aghdam.
Investigators initially believed the shooting was a domestic incident, with the shooter targeting someone who worked on the YouTube campus.
But one law enforcement source said the investigation is now looking into a website in which someone with a similar name complains about YouTube stifling traffic and suppressing videos. The source stressed that the investigation is in its preliminary stages.
The shooting occurred in an outdoor area that’s easier to access than other parts of the campus, the sources said.
San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini told reporters Tuesday afternoon that one person, believed to be the shooter, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Four people were taken to area hospitals for medical treatment, three with gunshot wounds.
Shortly before 5 p.m., Barberini said investigators were moving from a tactical to an investigative approach after searching the building floor by floor, room by room, and finding no immediate threat to
the community.
He declined to say if the incident was an act of domestic violence, but said investigators were trying to determine the woman’s motive and how she got into the building. He said the shooting occurred in a “courtyard area.”
Most tech companies, including YouTube, require visitors to check in with security before entering their facilities.
Officials with Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center said the hospital had taken in three patients, two women and one man. A 36-year-old man was in critical condition, a 32-year-old woman was in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman was in fair condition. None of them had been in surgery.
The fourth person suffered an ankle injury while fleeing.
“We’re doing everything we can to support them and their families at this time,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a letter
to employees.
Pichai said the shooting came as employees were having lunch and police, along with the company’s security team, worked to evacuate the buildings.
“The best information we have is that the situation is contained,” he said. “I know a lot of you are in shock right now. Over the coming days, we will continue to provide support to help everyone in our Google family heal from this unimaginable tragedy.”
In a tweet, President Donald Trump offered his “thoughts and prayers” to everyone involved in the incident Tuesday afternoon.
Several YouTube employees sent tweets Tuesday afternoon, saying people were racing out of the company’s Cherry Avenue offices shortly after 1 p.m.
Witnesses in the area said they saw dozens of firefighters and police officers descending on the area. Other witnesses said they saw police holding rifles and other weapons.