YouTube shooter ‘calm’ with police before attack
Earlier encounter left no hint of what was to come
Eleven hours before Nasim Aghdam launched a terrifying attack at YouTube’s California headquarters, police found her sleeping in her car about 30 miles away — a “calm and cooperative” woman during a 20minute interaction.
A few hours later, she would practice shooting at a gun range. And then she opened fire on people after decades of commitment to animal rights and veganism.
Wednesday brought those stunning revelations as federal investigators searched houses connected with the Iranian-born Aghdam and tried to piece together the final hours of some- one apparently filled with fury at the popular video-sharing service.
Aghdam, 39, killed herself after shooting three people at the San Bruno campus on Tuesday afternoon, sending thousands of tech workers fleeing and shocking Silicon Valley. Police say the only connection they can find between Aghdam and YouTube is her anger that the service had recently changed how she was compensated for posting videos.
Aghdam, an animal rights activist, posted a mishmash of workout videos, rants against animal cruelty and vegan cooking tips online. Her father told police she was upset because she felt YouTube was making it harder for her to earn money via advertising on her videos.
“They only care for personal short term profits and do anything to reach their goals…” Aghdam posted on her
website. “There is no free speech in the real world and you will be suppressed for telling the truth that is not supported by the system.”
The ongoing investigation aims to understand Aghdam’s motivations and actions, including how and where she acquired the 9mm handgun used in the shooting, and her movements and social media posts in the days before the attack.
Aghdam described herself on her Instagram account as “Athlete Artist Comedian Poet Model Singer Host Actor Director Producer,” and the videos she made mix satire, glamour shots and dark humor to rail against authority, capitalism and popular culture. She posted videos in English, Turkish and Farsi.
Wednesday, police in the town of Mountain View, Calif., disclosed that officers there found Aghdam sleeping in her car the night before the shooting, contacting her at the request of her parents. Mountain View is about 30 miles south of San Bruno, and Aghdam in a conversation at approximately 1:40 a.m. told officers she was looking for work in the area.
Because she didn’t appear to be a danger to herself or others, Mountain View police left her alone: “At no point during our roughly 20-minute interaction with her did she mention anything about YouTube, if she was upset with them, or that she had planned to harm herself or others. Throughout our entire interaction with her, she was calm and cooperative.”
Eleven hours later, police said, Aghdam walked into the YouTube building and opened fire. Three people were shot and a fourth suffered an ankle injury while fleeing, San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said.
He told reporters on Wednesday that Aghdam visited a local gun range on Tuesday morning and that she gained access to the YouTube campus through a parking garage.
Police said there was no evidence she knew the victims or that individuals were specifically targeted. “Whether that rises to the level of terrorism will be determined over the next few weeks,” Barberini added.
Aghdam’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended late Tuesday, but some clips of the material she published there have surfaced in news reports, on social media and on a still-live website address attached to her YouTube channels.
People who post on YouTube can receive money from ads that accompany their videos, but over the last year the firm has tightened restrictions on how video creators can get a portion of this revenue as it has tried to cut down on extremist, predatory and misleading content that’s proliferated and led to an advertising and public backlash.
Some YouTube video creators have chafed at these changes, saying they’re unfair and cut off income that in many cases funds legitimate grass-roots activity. YouTube officials have not responded to requests for information about Aghdam’s accounts. In a statement released Wednesday night, the Google-owned company said it was increasing security globally and encouraging affected staff to take time off or work from home. Officials also thanked first responders, and said workers appreciated the outpouring of support.
“Your support reminds us that even in the toughest of times, the YouTube community comes together and supports one another,” company officials said.