3 wounded, shooter kills herself after YouTube HQ shootout

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Three people were wounded on Tuesday after a shooting broke out at YouTube’s California headquarters. The shooter later committed suicide.

According to a statement, the San Bruno Police Department received 911 calls “reporting gun fire at the YouTube campus located at 901 Cherry Avenue in San Bruno”. Officers then arrived at the headquarters minutes later.

“Arriving officers encountered numerous employees fleeing the building. Officers encountered one victim with an apparent gunshot wound to a lower extremity at the front of the building,” the statement continued.

A “deceased female inside [the campus] with a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound” was then found. She was later identified as 39-year-old Nasim Najafi Aghdam from San Diego.

The motive behind the attack is not yet clear, however reports suggest that Aghdam felt that YouTube negatively targeted her content.

“San Bruno-based teams include engineers working on everything from site search and infrastructure to content channels and ad products,” Google writes in on its jobs page.

More than 1100 people work at the San Bruno campus.

Google and YouTube’s statements

YouTube and Google have yet to issue a statement. However, the company’s CEO Susan Wojciki issued her condolences to the “injured and impacted” in a tweet.

“There are no words to describe how horrible it was to have an active shooter @YouTube today. Our deepest gratitude to law enforcement and first responders for their rapid response. Our hearts go out to all those injured and impacted today. We will come together to heal as a family,” she added.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai also weighed in with his thoughts.

“There are no words to describe the tragedy that occurred today. @SusanWojcicki and I are focused on supporting our employees and the @YouTube community through this difficult time together. Thank you to the police and first responders for their efforts, and to all for msgs of support,” he tweeted

The internet responds

Other notable figures also tweeted their condolences.

“Was just briefed on the shooting at YouTube’s HQ in San Bruno, California. Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved. Thank you to our phenomenal Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders that are currently on the scene,” tweeted US President Donald Trump after the shooting.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones,” tweeted YouTuber Logan Paul, who also refrained from uploading a vlog to his channel in “light of today’s shooting”.

The San Bruno Police Department’s next press conference is set for Thursday 9am PST.

Feature image: YouTube

Andy Walker, former editor
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