Woman who shot three, self at California YouTube office identified

SAN BRUNO, CALIFORNIA: A woman opened fire with a handgun Tuesday in a courtyard at YouTube headquarters, wounding three people before fatally shooting herself in what is being investigated as a domestic dispute, authorities said.

Two law enforcement officials identified the suspect later Tuesday as Nasim Aghdam of Southern California and said the shooting was being investigated as a domestic dispute. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

Terrified employees huddled inside, calling 911, as officers and federal agents swarmed the company's suburban campus sandwiched between two interstate freeways in the San Francisco Bay Area city of San Bruno.

YouTube employee Dianna Arnspiger said she was on the building's second floor when she heard gunshots, ran to a window and saw the shooter on a patio outside.

She said the woman wore glasses and a scarf and was using a "big huge pistol."

"It was a woman and she was firing her gun. And I just said, 'Shooter,' and everybody started running," Arnspiger said.

She and others hid in a conference room for an hour while another employee repeatedly called 911 for updates.

"It was terrifying," she said.

Police gave little information about the victims.

A 36-year-old man was in critical condition, a 32-year-old woman was in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman was in fair condition, a spokesman for San Francisco General Hospital said.

Witnesses described terror before officers arrived and discovered a victim near a front door and then found the shooter several minutes later with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said.

He said two additional gunshot victims were found at an adjacent business minutes later. Barberini initially said there were four people who had been shot but later clarified that a fourth person had suffered an ankle injury.

Zach Vorhies, 37, a senior software engineer at YouTube, said he was at his desk working on the second floor of one of the buildings when the fire alarm went off. He got on his skateboard and approached a courtyard, where he saw the shooter yelling, "'Come at me, or come get me.'"

He saw somebody lying nearby on his back with a red stain on his stomach that appeared to be from a bullet wound. Vorhies said he realized there was an active shooter when a police officer with an assault rifle came through a security door.

He said the public can access the courtyard where he saw the shooter during work hours.

Michael Finney, a 21-year-old supervisor at Carl's Jr. across from the campus, said he came out of the bathroom to see a woman in a booth bleeding from the calf. Two friends were trying to stop the bleeding, using the victim's sweatshirt as a tourniquet, but it wasn't helping, he told the San Jose Mercury News.

"Everyone was figuring out what to do," Finney said. "I was trying to stay calm and see what I could do. Everybody is shocked."

Google, which owns the world's biggest online video website, said the company's security team worked with authorities to evacuate buildings and was doing whatever it could support the victims and their families.

YouTube's headquarters has more than a thousand engineers and other employees in several buildings. Originally built in the late 1990s for the clothing retailer Gap, the campus south of San Francisco is known for its sloped green roof of native grasses.

Inside, Google famously outfitted the office several years ago with a three-lane red slide for workers to zoom from one story to another.

"Today it feels like the entire community of YouTube, all of the employees, were victims of this crime," said Chris Dale, a YouTube spokesman. "Our hearts go out to all those who suffered."

The White House said President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting and that officials were monitoring developments.

Timeline:

04:08 (GMT): Law enforcement official identifies suspect in shooting at YouTube headquarters as Nasim Aghdam of Southern California. (AP)

3:30 pm: Amid conflicting reports on casualties, San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said the injured "have been transported and are being treated for injuries that are treatable."

He said police had sealed off the building as they pursued the investigation and searched for any additional possible victims.
 

3:15 pm: Google communications tweeted: "Re: YouTube situation, we are coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available."

Re: YouTube situation, we are coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available.

— Google Communications (@Google_Comms) April 3, 2018

3:15 pm:  "We were sitting in a meeting and then we heard people running because it was rumbling the floor. First thought was earthquake," employee Todd Sherman tweeted.

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.

— Todd Sherman (@tdd) April 3, 2018

3:15 pm:  Police believe YouTube shooter died of self-inflicted gunshot. Female suspect dead after YouTube shooting: US media

2:25 pm: The White House says President Donald Trump has been briefed on a shooting at YouTube headquarters in Northern California and that officials are monitoring it.

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

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2018

2:25 pm: Coroner's spokesman Thomas McGovern says investigators were called to the scene Tuesday afternoon. He wouldn't say if anyone was dead.

2:20 pm: One hospital in Northern California says it has received four to five patients from the shooting. Police in the city of San Bruno have confirmed an active shooter.

2:10 pm: Northern California's Stanford Hospital says it has received four to five patients from a shooting at YouTube headquarters. Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Kim did not have information on their conditions or their wounds.

1:50 pm: On Tuesday afternoon (local time in California), San Bruno area Police confirmed on Twitter: "We are responding to an active shooter. Please stay away from Cherry Ave & Bay Hill Drive." Online images showed armed officers descending on the campus near San Francisco.

Police activity at 901 Cherry Ave, please stay out of the area. pic.twitter.com/H6iAj0g7ra

— San Bruno Police (@SanBrunoPolice) April 3, 2018

1: 45 pm: A YouTube employee, Vadim Lavrusik, tweeted: "Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers." Later, Lavrusik said he had escaped to safety.

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 headquarters is located some 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the main Google campus in Mountain View.

The shooting, which follows a series of deadly gun incidents at schools and elsewhere, comes amid heated debate on gun control measures in the United States.

An estimated 1.5 million people participated in demonstrations March 24 calling for stricter firearms measures following a deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Organizers of the March for Our Lives sent a message of solidarity to the employees hit by Tuesday's shooting, tweeting "Our hearts are with you, @YouTube."
 

(With inputs from agencies)