04 April 2018•Update: 04 April 2018
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
A woman armed with a handgun shot and wounded three people before possibly taking her own life at YouTube's California headquarters Tuesday, according to police.
San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said there is no immediate threat to the community as officials continue their investigation into the tragedy. The investigation is expected to continue through Tuesday night.
The unidentified female suspect was found with a possibly self-inflicted gunshot wound within the headquarters, Barberini said.
Officials have yet to identify a motive.
Brent Andrew, a spokesman with San Francisco General Hospital, described the shooting as a "multiple casualty" event.
Three people are being treated for gunshot injuries at the hospital, and two of the victims are female while one is male, he said. The 36-year-old male victim is in critical condition while one woman is in serious condition and the other is in fair condition.
A fourth victim was transferred to a hospital after she hurt her ankle trying to flee the scene, according to Barberini.
The San Bruno Police Department urged people to stay away from the building, located at Cherry Ave and Bay Hill Drive.
President Donald Trump said he has been briefed on the situation and offered thoughts and prayers to all involved.
"Thank you to our phenomenal Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders that are currently on the scene," he said on Twitter.
Multiple news outlets identified the suspect as Nasim Aghdam. A pro-vegan website attached to a person with that name rails against alleged YouTube censorship, claiming the online streaming company "filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!"
"There is no equal growth opportunity on YOUTUBE or any other video sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to!!!!!" it says in a manifesto-like screed.
The website links to YouTube channels in Farsi, Turkish and English that have been terminated. It is unclear when those channels were closed. Other social media accounts the website links to remain operational.
Earlier, several YouTube employees posted on social media that they heard gunshots and took cover inside before fleeing the building.
"Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers," YouTube employee Vadim Lavrusik wrote on Twitter before saying he was evacuated.
Media footage of the scene showed massive groups of people being escorted out of the corporate headquarters amid a heavy police presence.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said "There are no words to describe how horrible it was to have an active shooter @YouTube today".
"Our deepest gratitude to law enforcement & first responders for their rapid response. Our hearts go out to all those injured & impacted today. We will come together to heal as a family," she said.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressed his condolences to those affected by Tuesday's tragedy, saying Google, which is the parent company of YouTube, is doing everything it can to support the injured and their families.
"I know a lot of you are in shock right now," he said in an email to the company. "Over the coming days, we will continue to provide support to help everyone in our Google family heal from this unimaginable tragedy."
