A woman reportedly behind a shooting at YouTube's headquarters that wounded three people Tuesday believed the San Francisco tech company was censoring her videos.
The shooter, identified by local reports as Nasim Aghdam, ended the short-lived rampage by taking her own life at around 12:45 p.m. at the video website’s St. Bruno offices.
"It was very chaotic, as you can imagine," San Bruno Police Department Chief Ed Barberini told reporters during a press conference.
The female suspect was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound after heavily-armed cops swarmed the office complex, Barberini said.
A 36-year-old man was taken to the San Francisco General Hospital in critical condition, a spokesman said. Two women, 32 and 27, were taken to the same hospital in serious condition. A fourth person suffered an ankle injury in the tumult that broke out.
A motive was not immediately known, but law enforcement sources said they were investigating the shooting as a domestic dispute.
The San Francisco Chronicle and KNTV-TV identified the shooter as Aghdam, citing law enforcement sources.
Police officers and crime scene tape are seen outside of the YouTube headquarters following an active shooter situation Tuesday. (ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/REUTERS)
She posted dozens of videos on a personal YouTube channel, including rants against the video giant for allegedly filtering her videos “to keep them from getting views,” she wrote on her website. Within minutes of her name surfacing in news reports, her YouTube channel was removed.
The site replaced her profile with a red banner announcing the removal: “This account has been terminated due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube's policy against spam, deceptive practices, and misleading content or other Terms of Service violations.”
Most of the videos on her profile celebrated her vegan diet.
YouTube employee Dianna Arnspiger said the shooter was armed with a “huge pistol” and wore glasses and a scarf.
“I just said, ‘Shooter,’ and everybody started running,” Arnspiger said. “It was terrifying.”
A string of similar mass shootings have shocked the nation in recent months, but Tuesday's bloodshed differed in that it was carried out by a woman.
Police officers and crime scene markers are scene at the YouTube headquarters. (ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/REUTERS)
"This is obviously very unusual," Jeff LeDuff, a retired chief of the Baton Rouge Police Department, told the Daily News.
LeDuff said he only oversaw one "active shooter" case involving a female suspect during his 30 years in law enforcement.
He speculated that the increasing rate at which these type of shootings happen is laying ground for a disturbing trend.
"We can’t just categorize shooters as one type of person anymore," LeDuff said. "It becomes an option for any deranged individual."
President Trump was briefed on the shooting Tuesday afternoon and offered his "thoughts and prayers" to the victims.
"Thank you to our phenomenal Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders," Trump tweeted.
Officers run toward the YouTube offices. (JEFF CHIU/AP)
The YouTube offices are located on the same suburban campus as Google. The area is also home to tech giants Apple and Twitter.
"I can’t imagine what our friends at YouTube are feeling and dealing with right now," Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted. "We‘re here for you and your families and friends."
Nearly 3,000 people work at the YouTube headquarters, which are located about 12 miles south of downtown San Francisco.
Tuesday's shooting comes as the country reels from a high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead on Feb. 14.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who represents the district where YouTube is located, expressed disbelief at the latest shooting.
"My stomach sinks with yet another active shooter alert," the Democrat tweeted. "I’m praying for the safety of everyone at YouTube headquarters."
March for Our Lives, the student-run activist group born out of the Parkland shooting, issued a statement within minutes of the first shots.
"No one should have to send a last 'I love you' text before returning to their hiding spot while an active shooter terrorizes their community," the group said. "We need to stop this."
- ny news
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