On Tuesday afternoon, a shooting took place at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California. The shooter has since been identified as 39-year-old, Nasim Najafi Aghdam. At this time, there’s been no official statement from police on the shooter’s motives.
Shooting At YouTube Headquarters
Days before the shooting, Nasim Aghdam’s family reported her missing. She had been unreachable for some time, failing to answer several of her parents phone calls. Unfortunately, no one in her family knew how to read someones text messages without having their phone. Otherwise they might have known about Nasim’s plans to attack YouTube headquarters. She was later found by police in Mountain View, 15 miles from YouTube headquarters, but was not taken into custody.
The shooting started around 12:45 Tuesday afternoon. Nasim Aghdam allegedly opened fire on several YouTube employees before entering the building. Police and other first responders arrived on the scene several minutes later. A total of four individuals were found to have suffered gunshot wounds. Including Aghdam, who was pronounced dead inside YouTube headquarters from an apparent, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The three other victims, a 36-year-old man, 27-year-old woman, and 32-year-old woman, were taken to nearby Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Police have not released their names but their conditions remain fair, serious, and critical, respectively.
The Role Of Social Media
Minutes after the shooting began, YouTube employees took to Twitter to alert the public.
Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers.
— Vadim Lavrusik (@Lavrusik) April 3, 2018
YouTube product manager, Todd Sherman, also described the terrifying scene in a separate thread.
We were sitting in a meeting and then we heard people running because it was rumbling the floor. First thought was earthquake. https://t.co/gmolQmRXm1
— Todd Sherman (@tdd) April 3, 2018
While there’s been no official statement on what Aghdam’s motives were, it’s believed the 39 year old targeted YouTube headquarters due to the recent demonetization of her YouTube accounts. In January 2017, Aghdam posted a YouTube video claiming the platform was limiting the amount of views on her videos, reducing the total amount she could earn on the platform. YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram have since deleted any accounts related to the shooter.
Our hearts go out to all the victims of this tragic event, and hope for a speedy recovery for those being hospitalized.
