YouTube shooter told family members she 'hated' the company
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SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) — A woman who believed she was being suppressed by YouTube and told her family members she "hated" the company opened fire at the company's headquarters in California, wounding three people before killing herself, police said.
Investigators do not believe Nasim Aghdam specifically targeted the three victims when she pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds in a courtyard at YouTube's headquarters south of San Francisco on Tuesday, police said.
But a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that Aghdam had a longstanding dispute with the company. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said Aghdam used the name "Nasime Sabz" online.
A website in that name decried YouTube's policies and said the company was trying to "suppress" content creators. She posted about veganism, animal cruelty along with glamor shots of herself and exercise videos.
"Youtube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!" one of the messages on the site said. "There is no equal growth opportunity on YOUTUBE or any other video sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to!!!!!"
People who post on YouTube can receive money from advertisements that accompany their videos, but the company "de-monetizes" some channels for reasons including inappropriate material or having fewer than 1,000 subscribers.
Aghdam "hated" YouTube and was angry that the company stopped paying her for videos she posted on the platform, her father, Ismail Aghdam, told the Bay Area News Group.
On Monday, he called police to report his daughter missing after she didn't answer the phone for two days and warned officers that she might go to YouTube, he said.
Officers in Mountain View — about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from YouTube's headquarters — found her sleeping in her car in a parking lot around 2 a.m. Tuesday but let her go after she refused to answer their questions. Aghdam didn't appear to be a threat to herself or others, police spokeswoman Katie Nelson said.
Nelson would not say whether officers had been warned that Aghdam might have been headed to YouTube headquarters.
Law enforcement first said the shooting was being investigated as a domestic dispute but did not elaborate. It was not immediately clear why police later said the people shot were not specifically targeted.
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Slide 1 of 17: SAN BRUNO, CA - APRIL 03: A police officer stands guard in front of a fast food restaurant across the street from the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California.
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A police officer stands guard in front of a fast food restaurant across the street of the YouTube headquarters on April 3 in San Bruno, California.
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Police operate outside the YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California on April 3, following a shooting.
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Police officers stand in front of the YouTube headquarters on April 3 in San Bruno, California.
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Emergency and law enforcement personnel exit YouTube headquarters, on April 3 in San Bruno, Calif. A woman opened fire at YouTube headquarters Tuesday, setting off a panic among employees and wounding several people before fatally shooting herself, police and witnesses said.
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Trauma surgeon Andre Campbell speaks with reporters outside Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, where three victims were brought following a shooting at YouTube headquarters nearby on April 3, 2018 in San Francisco.
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Burlingame Chief of Police Eric Wollman, left, hands a dog named Kimba to a man who wished to remain unidentified but said he worked for YouTube, outside the company's headquarters on April 3, in San Bruno, Calif.
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San Bruno police chief Ed Barberini speaks to members of the media outside of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California.
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Police in tactical gear walk outside of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California.
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Police walk outside of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California.
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Officers run toward a YouTube office in San Bruno, Calif., on April 3, 2018. Police and federal officials have responded to reports of a shooting Tuesday at YouTube headquarters in northern California.
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Law enforcement officials react following a shooting at the headquarters of YouTube in San Bruno, Calif., on April 3, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media.
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Officials are seen following a shooting at the headquarters of YouTube, in San Bruno, California, on April 3, 2018.
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The scene following a possible shooting at the headquarters of YouTube in San Bruno, California, on April 3, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media.
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The scene following a possible shooting at the headquarters of YouTube in San Bruno, California, on April 3, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media.
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Officers walk near a YouTube office in San Bruno, Calif., on April 3, 2018. Police in Northern California are responding to reports of a shooting at YouTube headquarters in the city of San Bruno.
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Officials are seen following a possible shooting at the headquarters of YouTube, in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media.
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People gather outside a building following a shooting at the headquarters of YouTube, in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media.
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(Slideshow by Photo Services)
One of the victims — a 36-year-old man — was in critical condition, a spokesman for San Francisco General Hospital said. A 32-year-old woman was in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman in fair condition, the spokesman said.
YouTube employee Dianna Arnspiger said she was on the building's second floor when she heard gunshots, ran to a window and saw the shooter on a patio outside.
"It was a woman and she was firing her gun. And I just said, 'Shooter,' and everybody started running," Arnspiger said.
She and others hid in a conference room for an hour while another employee repeatedly called 911 for updates.
The world's biggest online video website is owned by Silicon Valley giant Google, but company officials said it's a tight-knit community. The headquarters has more than a thousand engineers and other employees in several buildings. Originally built in the late 1990s for the clothing retailer Gap, the campus south of San Francisco is known for its sloped green roof of native grasses.
Inside, Google several years ago famously outfitted the office with a 3-lane red slide for workers to zoom from one story to another.
"Today it feels like the entire community of YouTube, all of the employees, were victims of this crime," said Chris Dale, a spokesman for YouTube.
This undated photo provided by the San Bruno Police Department shows Nasim Aghdam. Law enforcement officials have identified Aghdam as the person who opened fire with a handgun, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, Calif., wounding several people before fatally shooting herself in what is being investigated as a domestic dispute, according to authorities. (Courtesy of San Bruno Police Department via AP)
1/7 SLIDES © Courtesy of San Bruno Police Department via AP
This undated photo provided by the San Bruno Police Department shows Nasim Aghdam. Law enforcement officials have identified Aghdam as the person who opened fire with a handgun, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, Calif., wounding several people before fatally shooting herself in what is being investigated as a domestic dispute, according to authorities. (Courtesy of San Bruno Police Department via AP)
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Workers walk down a street near the YouTube complex in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday, April 3, 2018. A woman opened fire at YouTube headquarters Tuesday, setting off a panic among employees and wounding several people before fatally shooting herself, police and witnesses said.
3/7 SLIDES © AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Carl's Jr. workers and others sit in a shopping center parking lot near YouTube's offices in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday, April 3, 2018. A woman opened fire at YouTube headquarters Tuesday, setting off a panic among employees and wounding several people before fatally shooting herself, police and witnesses said.
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A YouTube sign is shown across the street from the company's offices in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday, April 3, 2018. A woman opened fire at YouTube headquarters Tuesday, setting off a panic among employees and wounding several people before fatally shooting herself, police and witnesses said.
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A sign for YouTube is displayed from windows at a Walmart corporate office in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday, April 3, 2018. A woman opened fire Tuesday at YouTube headquarters, wounding some people before fatally shooting herself as terrified employees huddled inside, police and witnesses said.
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Law enforcement officials walk toward YouTube offices in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday, April 3, 2018. A woman opened fire Tuesday at YouTube headquarters, wounding some people before fatally shooting herself as terrified employees huddled inside, police and witnesses said.
7/7 SLIDES © AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Armed law enforcement personnel exit an armored vehicle outside YouTube headquarters, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in San Bruno, Calif. A woman opened fire at YouTube headquarters Tuesday, setting off a panic among employees and wounding several people before fatally shooting herself, police and witnesses said.
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YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said in a tweet that the company would "come together to heal as a family."
Officers and federal agents responding to multiple 911 calls swarmed the company's campus sandwiched between two interstates in the San Francisco Bay Area city of San Bruno.
Zach Vorhies, 37, a senior software engineer at YouTube, said he was at his desk working on the second floor of one of the buildings when the fire alarm went off.
He got on his skateboard and approached a courtyard, where he saw the shooter yelling, "Come get me." He said the public can access the courtyard without any security check during working hours.
There was somebody lying nearby on his back with a red stain on his stomach that appeared to be from a bullet wound.
He said he realized it was an active shooter incident when a police officer with an assault rifle came through a security door. He jumped on his skateboard and took off.
Officers discovered one victim with a gunshot wound when they arrived and then found the shooter with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound several minutes later, San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said. He said two additional gunshot victims were later located at an adjacent business.
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Balsamo reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Sudhin Thanawala, Janie Har and Juliet Williams in San Francisco and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
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