YouTube headquarters shooting

On April 3, 2018 around 12:46 p.m. PDT, a shooting occurred at the headquarters of the video-sharing website YouTube in San Bruno, California. The shooter was identified as 38-year-old Nasim Najafi Aghdam, who entered through an exterior parking garage, approached an outdoor patio, and opened fire with a Smith & Wesson 9 mm semi-automatic pistol. Aghdam wounded three people, one of them critically, before killing herself.[6][7][8]

YouTube headquarters shooting
YouTube's headquarters in San Bruno, California
San Bruno
San Bruno (San Francisco)
San Bruno
San Bruno (San Francisco Bay Area)
San Bruno
San Bruno (California)
San Bruno
San Bruno (the United States)
LocationYouTube headquarters
901 Cherry Avenue
San Bruno, California, U.S.
Coordinates37.62816°N 122.42630°W / 37.62816; -122.42630 (Shooting) (shooting)
DateApril 3, 2018 (PDT, UTC−7)
Attack type
Shooting
WeaponsSemi-automatic pistol (Smith & Wesson SD9VE)[1]
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)[2]
Injured4 (3 by gunfire) [3]
PerpetratorNasim Najafi Aghdam[4]
MotiveYouTube demonetization [5]

Shooting

At 12:46 p.m., San Bruno police received reports of a shooter at the YouTube headquarters.[9] Aghdam's weapon had a capacity of 10 rounds and she emptied one magazine before reloading.[10] Helicopter footage later showed a large hole and broken glass in the building's lobby doors.[11] A coroner's report found that Aghdam died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the heart, finding no evidence of drugs or alcohol in her system.[12] The shooting happened two days before Aghdam's 39th birthday.

Perpetrator
Nasim Najafi Aghdam
نسیم نجفی اقدم
Born5 April 1979
Urmia, Iran
Died3 April 2018(2018-04-03) (aged 38)
San Bruno, California, United States
OccupationContent creator, Activist

Background

The perpetrator was identified by police as Nasim Najafi Aghdam (Persian: نسيم نجفى اقدم‎; 5 April 1979 – 3 April 2018), a vegan activist and aspiring fitness personality.[13] She was born in Urmia, Iran, and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1996.[14][15][16] She was a registered member of the Baháʼí Faith[17] and described how veganism was aligned with her religion,[18] but was critical of Middle Eastern cultural practices and Muslims and Baháʼís who ate animals.[19] She lived with her grandmother in Riverside County, California.[15][16] She posted content on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube in Persian, Azerbaijani, English and Turkish.[15] Her content went viral on Iranian social media and drew widespread attention.[20] She had previously protested with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals against the use of pigs in United States Marine Corps training procedures for victims of trauma.[21]

Nasim Aghdam purchased and registered a 9 mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol from a San Diego gun dealer on January 16, 2018.[22] On March 31, 2018, Aghdam's family reported to the police that Nasim Aghdam was missing.[5] According to her father, she "hated" YouTube, and the family was worried she might be traveling to the company's offices.[23][24]

The morning before the shooting, police officers found Aghdam sleeping in her car in a Walmart parking lot in Mountain View, 25 miles (40 km) south of YouTube's headquarters.[25][26] The officers did not identify her as a threat, and it is unclear whether these police officers were aware of the concerns of Aghdam's father.[27] Aghdam visited a shooting range the day before the shooting.[26]

Motive

Police believe Aghdam was motivated by perceived discrimination by YouTube towards her channels.[28][29] She complained about the company on her website,[30][31] writing that "Youtube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!" and that the company had demonetized most of her videos.[32]

Ismail Aghdam, her father, of Riverside County, said that his daughter was a "vegan activist and animal lover" who told him that YouTube had been censoring her videos and stopped paying her for her content. “She was angry,” he said.[33] According to the San Jose Mercury-News:

[Nasim] Aghdam was prolific on social media, posting videos and photos on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube. Her YouTube channel included strange workout video clips, graphic animal abuse videos and vegan cooking tutorials.[33]

Victims

San Francisco General Hospital and Stanford University Medical Center treated the victims.[34][35] Four injuries were reported.[3][36][37] The victims were a 36-year-old man in critical condition, a 32-year-old woman in fair condition, and a 27-year-old woman in stable condition.[38] Another person injured her ankle while fleeing the building.[3]

References
  1. Zwirz, Elizabeth (May 31, 2018). "YouTube shooter asked about a job when she visited the campus a day earlier, police say". Fox News. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  2. D'Onfro, Jillian (April 3, 2018). "Female suspect in YouTube HQ shooting is dead". NBC News. CNBC. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  3. Simon, Darran. "Trauma surgeon in YouTube shooting vents his frustration over gun violence". CNN.
  4. "Woman who allegedly carried out YouTube shooting is identified by police". CNBC. April 3, 2018. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018.
  5. Coldeway, Devin; Hatmaker, Taylor (April 4, 2018). "Police say shooter's anger over YouTube policies 'appears to be the motive'". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  6. Allen, Karma (April 4, 2018). "Family of alleged YouTube shooter warned police 'she might do something'". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  7. "Shooter dead, at least 3 injured in YouTube shooting, police say". KRON. April 3, 2018. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018.
  8. Astor, Maggie; Salam, Maya (April 3, 2018). "YouTube Shooting: Woman Wounds 3 Before Killing Herself, Police Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018.
  9. "YouTube shooting: Timetable of events". Mercury news. April 4, 2018.
  10. "YouTube shooter legally purchased firearm in San Diego earlier this year". CBS.
  11. "YouTube shooter's parents: 'She never hurt one ant, how she shoot the people?'". SF Gate. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  12. "Coroner: YouTube Shooter Shot Herself Through the Heart". AP. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  13. "Vegan who 'railed against YouTube'". BBC. April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  14. Wakabayashi, Daisuke; Haag, Matthew; Dias, Elizabeth (April 4, 2018). "Sleeping In Car and Visiting Gun Range: How YouTube Attacker Spent Final Hours". The NY times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  15. "La police s'interroge sur les motivations de l'auteure de la fusillade au siège de Youtube" [Police question motives of YouTube shooter]. Le Monde (in French). April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  16. Gosk, Stephanie; Rainey, James; McGee, Courtney; Connor, Tracy (April 4, 2018). "YouTube shooter Nasim Aghdam's father says she wouldn't hurt an ant". NBC News.
  17. Jenkins, Jack (April 6, 2018). "The 'Splainer: The YouTube shooter's Baha'i faith". Religion News Service. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  18. "YouTube suspect's interview: Peace through veganism". The Mercury News. April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  19. Orfanides, Effie (April 3, 2018). "Nasim Aghdam: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  20. Wakabayashi, Daisuke; Erdbrink, Thomas; Haag, Matthew (April 4, 2018). "'Vegan Bodybuilder': How YouTube Attacker, Nasim Aghdam, Went Viral in Iran". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  21. Davis, Kristina (August 13, 2009). "PETA protests military's use of pigs in training". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2018. Nasim Aghdam (front) demonstrated with a plastic sword against the Marines' killing of pigs in a military exercise. “For me, animal rights equal human rights,” Aghdam said.
  22. Lyons, Jenna (April 5, 2018). "YouTube shooter purchased gun in January in San Diego". SFGate. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  23. Choi, David (April 4, 2018). "Father of the suspected YouTube shooter reportedly told police his daughter was 'angry' with the company, warned that she might travel to its office". Business Insider. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  24. "Family of alleged YouTube shooter warned police 'she might do something'". ABC News. April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  25. "YouTube Shooter's Brother Said He Called Police, Warned Them in Advance After Sister Reported Missing". KTLA. April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  26. Yan, Holly; Karimi, Faith (April 4, 2018). "YouTube shooter visited gun range before attack, police say". CNN. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  27. "Police reportedly found and questioned Nasim Aghdam on the morning of the YouTube shooting, then let her go". Business insider. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  28. "YouTube attacker was vegan activist who accused tech firm of discrimination". CNBC (April 4, 2018). Reuters. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018. YouTube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!
  29. Machkovech, Sam (April 4, 2018). "Tragic YouTube shooting casts new light on creators' "adpocalypse" complaints [Updated] Alleged shooter left a video behind with complaints about revenue. What's going on?". Ars technica. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  30. Aghdam, Nasim. "Nasim Aghdam's website". Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  31. Balsamo, Michael; Nakashima, Ryan (April 4, 2018). "YouTube shooter told family she 'hated' the company". CTV News – via Associated Press.
  32. "YouTube shooter Nasim Aghdam was vegan who complained about 'suppression'". NBC News. April 4, 2018.
  33. Ethan Barron, "YouTube Shooter's Father Says She Was Angry at Company," The Mercury News," April 20, 2018
  34. "Female suspect dead in shooting at YouTube's HQ in San Bruno, California". NBC News. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  35. "Shooting at YouTube HQ in California". BBC News. April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  36. Dave, Paresh. "Shots fired at YouTube offices in California, casualties reported".
  37. "Active Shooter, Casualties Reported At YouTube Headquarters". CBS San Francisco. April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  38. "YouTube Shooting: Woman Wounds 3 Before Killing Herself, Police Say". The New York Times. Brent Andrew, a spokesman for the hospital, said at a news conference that a 36-year-old man was in critical condition, a 32-year-old woman in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman in fair condition.
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