Woman opens fire at YouTube HQ, injures 3 before killing self

Team Udayavani, Apr 4, 2018, 10:43 AM IST

Washington: A woman opened fire at the YouTube headquaters today in the US state of California, wounding three people before killing herself, officials said, calling it a prima facie case of domestic dispute. The suspect, who died of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, has been identified as 38-year-old Nasim Aghdam, two police officials were quoted as saying by the NBC.

The headquarters of YouTube, a video-sharing service owned by Alphabet Inc’s Google, in San Bruno near Silicon Valley has a significant number of Indian-American professionals. Officials said they believe the motive behind the incident was a domestic related-dispute and is not terror-related at this point of the investigation, the report said.

The woman shot three people at the YouTube headquarters in Northern California, officials said. As people scrambled off the patio outside a cafe on the YouTube campus, a fourth person was hurt, injuring her ankle. San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said the suspect was found at the scene and appeared to have killed herself with a 9 mm handgun.

The shooter is believed to have known at least one of the victims, two law enforcement officials said. One of the victims, a 36-year-old man, is said to be in a critical condition. The other two victims are a 32-year-old woman who was in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman who was in fair condition, officials said.

US President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting. “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,” he said.

Google, which owns the world’s biggest online video website, in a tweet, advised all other employees in the Bay Area, and people with meetings scheduled, to stay away from the area. “There is no need to take any action. We have provided employees a helpline,” it said.

In another tweet, it said the company was coordinating with authorities. “Re: YouTube situation, we are coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available,” Google communications tweeted. In an email to his employee, Google CEO Sunder Pichai said that the shooting happened when employees were having lunch at YouTube headquarters.

“Earlier this afternoon, while our employees were having lunch, we received reports of an active shooter at YouTube in San Bruno. Law, enforcement and our security team worked to evacuate the buildings and prioritise the safety of everyone there,” Pichai said in a message which was posted on Twitter.

“The best information we have is that the situation is contained. We are very actively monitoring and working with local authorities and hospitals. lt ‘s with great sadness that I tell you — based on the latest information — four people were injured in this horrific act of violence,” Pichai said.

“From everyone at Apple, we send our sympathy and support to the team at YouTube and Google, especially the victims and their families,” Cook tweeted. “My stomach sinks with yet another active shooter alert. I’m praying for the safety of everyone at YouTube headquarters,” tweeted Senator Dianne Feinstein. YouTube headquarters is located some 50 kilometres from the main Google campus in Mountain View.