A woman opened fire at the suburban Northern California campus of Google's YouTube, wounding three and sending panicked employees fleeing from their offices before taking her own life. The suspected shooter's father had reportedly informed the police that his daughter had been missing for a few days and that she was angry with YouTube. Meanwhile, reacting to the shooting, Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and YouTube's heads expressed their support for the victims.
San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said three gunshot victims, and a fourth person hurt running from the attack, were transported Tuesday afternoon to local hospitals. The woman found at the scene appeared to be dead of “a self-inflicted” gunshot wound, he said. While no motive was given for the shooting, two law enforcement sources told the Associated Press that the incident was being investigated as a domestic dispute. Media including NBC’s local affiliate and Kron4, citing anonymous sources, identified the shooter as southern California resident Nasim Aghdam.
Violence on this scale is rare on the modern, sprawling grounds of Silicon Valley’s technology companies, and it may result in a re-evaluation of the security at the open campus atmospheres they tend to favor. Rates of workplace violence have declined since 1994, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Just 4 percent of homicides at work in 2010 occurred in the professional and business-services sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The shooting shattered what had been a quiet, sunny day with many people outside for lunch. Workers at the headquarters of the video-sharing website said they heard gunshots and what sounded like banging and people running outside. Immediately, the Twitter feeds of employees began mentioning an active shooting on campus. Police said they first received emergency phone calls at 12:46 p.m. local time and the incident appeared to have started at a patio on the campus.
Here are the top 10 developments around the YouTube headquarters shooting where the assailant committed suicide after injuring several people:
- Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and YouTube heads express grief over shooting: In the aftermath of the YouTube HQ shooting, the heads of YouTube, Amazon.com, Twitter, and Apple spoke out and expressed their support for those who were injured in the incident. CEO of YouTube Susan Wojcicki tweeted that "there are no words to describe how horrible it was to have an active shooter" at YouTube. "Our deepest gratitude to law enforcement & first responders for their rapid response," she said, adding, "Our hearts go out to all those injured & impacted today. We will come together to heal as a family."
Jeff Bezos, the Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, tweeted that it was a "horrible and truly tragic day for YouTube and Google". He added: "We are wishing all our very best for the injured and all those affected." Tim Cook, the Chief Executive Officer of Apple, tweeted that Apple was sending its "sympathy and support to the team at YouTube and Google, especially the victims and their families"