SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Investigators today served a search warrant at the San Diego-area residence where a woman was staying before she drove to the Northern California headquarters of YouTube, shot and wounded three people and then turned the gun on herself.
Nasim Najafi Aghdam, 37, was apparently upset with the online video company over its policies and practices that she thought were targeting her channels, law enforcement officials confirmed at a new conference this morning in San Bruno, where YouTube is headquartered.
San Bruno police Chief Ed Barberini also revealed that Aghdam practiced at a gun range Tuesday morning before carrying out the shooting with a 9 mm Smith & Wesson handgun registered in her name.
Aghdam was a resident of Menifee, in Riverside County, before she came to San Diego to live with a relative, though exactly when was unclear.
Police this morning said they'd obtained search warrants for two residences in Southern California, the residence in 4S Ranch and another in Riverside County.
Police say Aghdam opened fire as YouTube employees were taking their lunch breaks Tuesday. Authorities received numerous 911 calls reporting gunshots at the YouTube campus south of San Francisco at 12:46 p.m., according to the San Bruno Police Department.
Arriving officers encountered numerous employees fleeing the premises and one victim at the site, San Bruno police Cmdr. Geoff Caldwell said. Two additional gunshot victims had fled to a neighboring business.
Inside the complex, officers located a dead woman -- later identified as Aghdam -- with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Caldwell said.
The most seriously injured victim, a 36-year-old man, remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to police. Two women, ages 32 and 27, were treated for less serious gunshot wounds and have since been released. Another woman injured an ankle while fleeing the scene.
On Tuesday, family members said Aghdam was upset with YouTube for allegedly filtering her content to drive her views down. Her father said the family had called police to report his daughter missing Monday because she hadn't answered her phone for two days. Ismail Aghdam told the Bay Area News Group that he told police she might be going to YouTube because she ``hated" the company.
Police in Mountain View, south of San Bruno, said they made contact with Aghdam sleeping in her car early Tuesday morning and then notified her family. Aghdam's brother told 10News that when he realized how close Mountain View was to YouTube's headquarters, he alerted authorities to warn them she might be planning a confrontation. But the brother, who spoke with 10News on the condition that his voice be changed and his face hidden, said he was unaware that Aghdam owned or had access to a handgun.
A website that apparently belonged to her featured rants about perceived censorship by YouTube. Most of Aghdam's videos featured low production values and showed her dancing, singing and sharing pro-vegan and animal rights messages.
``Youtube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!'' she wrote on nasimesabz.com. ``There is no equal growth opportunity on YOUTUBE or any other video sharing site, your channel will grow if they want (it) to!!!!!''
Aghdam, who apparently ran several social media sites in English, Farsi and Turkish, claimed that some of her videos were age-restricted in 2016 ``after new close-minded YouTube employees got control of my Farsi YouTube channel ... and began filtering my videos to reduce views (and) suppress (and) discourage me from making videos!''
The YouTube campus remained closed today. The San Bruno police chief said Aghdam's car was impounded and being examined, but no notes or manifestos were found that forecast the violence, aside from online rants that did not appear to mention any violent intentions.