YouTube HQ Shooting: Suspect ID'd, Posted Rants About Company

SAN BRUNO, CA — Four people are hurt and one person is dead Tuesday following a shooting at the YouTube offices in San Bruno apparently carried out by a woman who had taken issue with the company's monetization opportunities, according to police and news reports. San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said the gunwoman was found dead following the active shooting situation which prompted a massive law enforcement response in town.

The attack was allegedly carried out by a woman who had written about her disdain for the video sharing website on her own site, according to multiple media outlets. Nasim Aghdam allegedly drove from Southern California to the Bay Area to carry out the shooting, according to reports from NBC Bay Area and KRON4 News.

After carrying out her rampage, police said the woman died of a "self-inflicted" wound.

Many details remain unclear behind the woman's possible motive. Law enforcement sources had said earlier that the incident stemmed from some sort of domestic violence case and is not believe to be terrorism-related.

"There is no equal growth opportunity on YOUTUBE or any other video sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to!!!!!" she posted on her site.

NBC reported that Aghdam's car was towed from the YouTube offices following the shooting.

Approximate Timeline At YouTube

It all started around 12:46 p.m. when police began receiving "numerous" 911 calls reporting the shooting at 901 Cherry Avenue, police said. They soon found a "chaotic" scene as people ran for help.

"Arriving officers encountered numerous employees fleeing the building," Barberini said in a news release. "Officers encountered one victim with an apparent gunshot wound to a lower extremity at the front of the building."

A spokesman for Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital said that facility received two women and one man who were injured in the YouTube incident, all of whom were shot. The man is in critical condition, while one woman is in serious condition and the other is in fair condition. Initial reports indicated that additional patients were taken to Stanford Hospital, but the facility later confirmed no one was taken there.

Meanwhile, YouTube employees were evacuated from the offices as a strong police presence remained into Tuesday evening.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Barberini said that two of the victims were found at an adjacent business, having running there for help after the shooting.

As of 2:40 p.m., Barberini said the building was cleared of employees and police officers were searching in a "slow and methodical manner." There is "no information to suggest" that another shooter is involved, he said. Police were still asking residents to steer clear of the area as of Tuesday evening.

'Active Shooter'

"We are responding to an active shooter," SBPD wrote on Twitter at 1:28 p.m. about a half hour after the incident was first reported. "Please stay away from Cherry Ave & Bay Hill Drive."

Just prior to that, an employee wrote on Twitter that he heard the sound of shots from his office.

"Active shooter at YouTube HQ," Vadim Lavrusik said on the social media site just before 1 p.m. "Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers."

Lavrusik said he was safely evacuated about 15 minutes later.

Area witnesses said they saw employees exiting the building with their hands up as police swarmed the facility. Images from the scene showed groups of people lining up outside with police escorting them away.

One man at the scene told an ABC reporter that he saw a man "bleeding from the stomach."

Todd Sherman, a product manager at the company, tweeted that he was in a meeting when he heard people running. At first, he thought it was an “earthquake."

"After existing the room we still didn’t know what was going on but more people were running. Seemed serious and not like a drill,” he tweeted.

They headed for an exit and saw more people. Then, he wrote, someone said somebody had a gun. He said at that point, every new person he saw was a potential shooter.

"I looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs. Peaked around for threats and then we headed downstairs and out the front,” Sherman wrote.

That’s when police cruisers pulled up with “rifles ready,” he said.

KRON4 is reporting the woman drove from San Diego to the San Bruno offices of YouTube, which are located just south of San Francisco, north of Google's headquarters in Mountain View. Approximately 1,700 people work at the 200,000 square-foot facility, according to reports.

ALSO SEE: YouTube Shooter's Father Told Police She Was Upset Over Videos

Shock, Sadness In the Community

Google said they were "coordinating with authorities" following the attack and that they told employees in San Bruno to continue sheltering in place until cleared by police.

"We advised all other employees in the Bay Area, and people with meetings scheduled, to stay away from the area, and that there is no need to take any action," Google said on Twitter. "We have provided employees a helpline."

President Trump tweeted his "thoughts and prayers" to those affected by the shooting.

"Was just briefed on the shooting at YouTube’s HQ in San Bruno, California," he said. "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."

The local congresswoman for the region in which San Bruno lies, Jackie Speier, said she was "shocked" by the incident.

“I was shocked and saddened to hear about the shooting at YouTube today," she said in a statement. "I wish the victims a swift recovery and send my support to everyone at YouTube who went through this traumatic experience. Law enforcement and first responders did an outstanding job and undoubtedly saved lives. I commend them for their immediate response."

“Unfortunately, gun violence incidents at workplaces, schools, places of worship or entertainment have become all too common," she added. "We cannot accept this as normal. We must take action to end gun violence.”

Press Release regarding YouTube incident - https://t.co/4fZtzVQ3Aq
Additional press conference will take place at 4:30pm. pic.twitter.com/nHwZMuOfl3
— San Bruno Police (@SanBrunoPolice) April 3, 2018

We are seeing @YouTube employees being brought out with hands up! pic.twitter.com/ZlSMY9FIVm
— Erin (@erinjeanc) April 3, 2018

Active shooter at YouTube san bruno pic.twitter.com/Wz79VIjuCP
— Ollie G (@odigenous) April 3, 2018

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Image 1: Police officers stand by in front of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News / Getty Images)

Image 2: Police walk outside of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News / Getty Images)

Image 3: Police put on tactical gear outside of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News / Getty Images)

Image 4: 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. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News / Getty Images)

Image 5: Police officers stand by in front of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News / Getty Images)

Image 6: Police walk outside of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/ Getty Images)

Image 7: Police in tactical gear walk outside of the YouTube headquarters on April 3, 2018 in San Bruno, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Patch editors Dan Hampton and Feroze Dhanoa and Autumn Johnson contributed to this report.