THE FEMALE PERPETRATOR of yesterday’s shooting attack at the headquarter of YouTube in California was a vegan-themed content creator with a perceived grudge against the company.
39-year-old Nasim Aghdam entered the offices of the social media giant in the city of San Bruno and opened fire, leaving three people wounded, including one in a critical condition, before apparently turning the handgun she had used upon herself.
Her father Ismail has claimed to US media that he had repeatedly warned police that his daughter ‘hated’ the company.
“There is no free speech in real world and you will be suppressed for telling the truth that is not supported by the system,” read a post on a website identified as hers by the San Francisco Chronicle.
There is no equal growth opportunity on YouTube or any other video sharing site.
Amid a chaotic scene in the city of San Bruno, Aghdam was found dead at the scene of the Google-owned video sharing service.
“We have one subject who is deceased inside the building with a self-inflicted wound,” San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini earlier told reporters. “At this time, we believe it to be the shooter.”
Officers arriving to numerous calls for help saw employees running from the building, and found a person out front who appeared to be shot in the leg, according to police.
Four people, three suffering from gunshot wounds, were taken to local hospitals, police said. The fourth person hurt suffered a sprained or broken ankle.
One of those shot, a 36-year-old man, remains in a critical condition this morning.
Aghdam’s various social media accounts, meanwhile, have been shut down.
Shock
“I know a lot of you are in shock right now,” Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said in a message to employees shared by the company on Twitter.
I am grateful to everyone inside and outside the company for the outpouring of support and best wishes.
He thanked emergency workers for springing into action to help, and said that he and YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki were focused on supporting employees in the aftermath of the violence.
“There are no words to describe how horrible it was to have an active shooter @YouTube today,” Wojcicki wrote.
“Our hearts go out to all those injured and impacted today. We will come together to heal as a family.”
Shootings by women are a rare occurrence in the United States, where the overwhelming majority of gun violence is carried out by men.
Employees recounted frantic scenes as they fled YouTube’s headquarters near San Francisco, with one saying he saw blood on the floor as he escaped.
The shooting took place around midday local time, when many at YouTube were having lunch.
“We were sitting in a meeting and then we heard people running because it was rumbling the floor. First thought was earthquake,” employee Todd Sherman tweeted.
Potential shooter
Sherman said that as he headed for an exit, “someone said that there was a person with a gun,” adding that “at that point every new person I saw was a potential shooter.”
Sherman’s tweets continued: “I looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs. Peeked around for threats and then we headed downstairs and out the front.”
One image posted by a Twitter user showed employees being led out of the building with their hands up, with no further explanation.
Another YouTube employee, Vadim Lavrusik, tweeted: “Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers.”
Later, Lavrusik said he had escaped to safety.
A worker told of a fire alarm going off at one point, prompting an exodus that grew more urgent as news of gunfire spread.
With © – AFP, 2018
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