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Update: Possible Active Shooter Reported at YouTube HQ (theverge.com)

Police have responded to multiple 911 calls at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California. From a report: Vadim Lavrusik, a product manager at the company, tweeted that there is an active shooter on campus. The San Bruno Police Department instructed people to stay away from 901 Cherry Avenue, where the company is located. Multiple 911 calls have been received from inside the building, according to a report from local news station KRON. In a Twitter thread, YouTube product manager Todd Sherman said that employees first thought there had been an earthquake. People began running out of their meetings, he said, but before reaching the exit, they got word that someone had a gun. Sherman said he saw blood on the floor and the stairs. He also said the shooter may have committed suicide. Vadim Lavrusik, who works at YouTube's products team, tweeted, "Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers."

Update 20:30 GMT: Google has issued the following statement, "we are coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available." San Bruno Police said it was "responding to an active shooter. Please stay away from Cherry Ave & Bay Hill Drive."

Update 20:40 GMT: CBS San Francisco reports: KPIX 5 reporter Andria Borba said at least two Homeland Security units were responding. Police radio transmissions describe casualties being taken to local hospitals. San Francisco General Hospital spokesman Brent Andrew said the hospital received patients from the incident but could not confirm a number. Update 21:20 GMT: ABC News is reporting that the suspected shooter is a white adult female, and that this is "leaning towards a workplace violence situation."

Update 21:30 GMT: Law enforcement has confirmed that the shooter was a white female dressed in a headscarf. The woman reportedly shot her boyfriend then herself. It's unclear exactly how many people have been injured, but early reports estimate at least 9-10 victims. There is no word on their conditions.

Update 03:10 GMT: ABC7 News is reporting that the shooter has been identified as Nasim Aghdam. She reportedly had a website with an alleged manifesto that targeted YouTube for censorship and demonetization of her video content. Contrary to previous reports, she is said to have no relationship with anyone in the YouTube facility.

UPDATE 03:40 GMT: Aghdam's website can be found here.

Update 04:15 GMT: The shooter is believed to have known at least one of the victims, two law enforcement officials told CNN. Other sources suggest the shooter drove up from San Diego. YouTube says her YouTube channel "has been terminated due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube's policy against spam, deceptive practices, and misleading content or other Terms of Service violations."

33 of 788 comments (clear)

  1. I don’t think it’s possible by Kohath · · Score: 3, Insightful

    California has pretty strict gun laws. How could anyone get a gun to YouTube HQ?

    1. Re:I don’t think it’s possible by thegarbz · · Score: 5, Funny

      We all know gun control isn't the answer. Thoughts and prayers are!

    2. Re:I don’t think it’s possible by Train0987 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The destruction of all morality and complete lack of any personal responsibility. Not to mention a culture that now values being a victim above all else. Zero discipline in schools or at home. The absence of two-parent homes. Etc, etc.

      But please, tell us again how this is the fault of an inanimate object.

    3. Re:I don’t think it’s possible by ceoyoyo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I mentioned once to an American that gun laws in Canada require that if you have a gun, you store it unloaded, with a trigger lock AND in a locked gun cabinet. The response was "that's stupid, how do you use it to defend your home?"

      So I think you're right. The problem with guns in the US is the attitude towards them. Guns in the US are for protection (i.e. shooting people). Guns in other countries are tools or sporting equipment (i.e. not for shooting people).

      Stephen Pinker points out that a good correlate of the violent death rate in a country is the willingness of the populace to trust an authority to resolve their conflicts.

      I doubt strong gun control laws in the US will be a quick fix. It takes time to undo a couple of centuries of frontier attitude.

    4. Re:I don’t think it’s possible by DogDude · · Score: 5, Informative
      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    5. Re:I don’t think it’s possible by ceoyoyo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm not an American. I don't really care what you do, and if you actually read what I said you will observe that I didn't tell anybody they should undo anything.

      However, according to polls, the majority of the US population (an overwhelming majority actually), seems to be dissatisfied with daily mass shootings and would like to see that change. The people concerned would like their culture to change.

      There is an argument that cultures that promote certain behaviour should be encouraged to change by the international community. I believe the US has been involved in several foreign wars based on this principle.

    6. Re:I don’t think it’s possible by blindseer · · Score: 4, Informative

      Why should I care about "gun violence"? Shouldn't I be concerned about total violence?

      I went to the page you linked to and sorted the list by gun ownership rates and scanned for two states with identical numbers. Here's what I found:
      State - gun ownership rate - murder rate
      Indiana - 33.8% - 3.1
      Iowa - 33.8% - 1.2

      Michigan - 28.8% - 5.6
      Vermont - 28.8% - 1.1

      I then sort by murder rate and find:
      State - gun ownership rate - murder rate
      Nebraska - 19.8% - 2.8
      Rhode Island - 5.8% - 2.8

      Alaska - 61.7% - 4.4
      New York - 10.3% - 4.4

      Arkansas - 57.9% - 4.5
      Kentucky - 42.4% - 4.5
      Arizona - 32.3% - 4.5

      Georgia - 1.6% - 5.3
      Delaware - 5.2% - 5.3

      I didn't include all the states, people can go to the source to find that if they want. I just wanted to highlight that claiming that gun ownership does not correlate well to murder rates. Just the examples between Alaska and New York is quite telling. People are often aware of the murders in New York because of the high population but it's got no different of a rate than Alaska. Alaska has a gun ownership rate of over 60%. If you subtract the number of people that are too young to buy a gun then that starts to look like nearly every adult in Alaska owns a gun. In Alaska there's no requirement to get a permit to carry a concealed firearm, so it's quite possible a large percentage of people carry their firearms often.

      You may be right but only because you defined the parameters by counting only "gun violence". Why should I care about reducing "gun violence" if that just means I get killed by a lead pipe in the study instead of shot by a revolver in the ballroom?

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    7. Re:I don’t think it’s possible by djinn6 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Stephen Pinker points out that a good correlate of the violent death rate in a country is the willingness of the populace to trust an authority to resolve their conflicts.

      Unfortunately, that willingness to trust authority is also what gets you dictators. I suspect if you total the number of people who were killed by dictators, it would be much larger than the number of murders and mass shootings that happened due to private gun ownership. Not to mention all those who died due to poor governance under such regimes. I don't think there's even a way to track that.

    8. Re:I don’t think it’s possible by blindseer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Did you even read my prior post? Alaska and New York have the same murder rate even though there are six times as many guns per person in Alaska.

      You think that maybe it's easier to murder tens of people when the victims have knives instead of guns?

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  2. A violation of the TOS? by NewtonsLaw · · Score: 5, Funny

    Isn't going into YouTube HQ with a loaded gun and shooting people a violation of the terms of service?

    Does this gunman not understand that this will almost certainly result in a strike against his account?

    Talk about reckless!

  3. Re:Then this happens... by butchersong · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Apparently a woman in some sort of black head covering... but who knows the media always get this stuff wrong as they leap to be the first to provide info.

  4. Cat Videos by sycodon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Imagine your job is to review cat videos.

    All day, every day.

    Cats sleeping, cats jumping, cats getting scared, cats attacking, cats fighting, cats hunting birds, etc.

    Now, wouldn't that make you crazy and want to shoot the place up?

    --
    When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    1. Re:Cat Videos by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 3, Funny

      Imagine your job is to review cat videos.

      All day, every day.

      . . . which leads to an amusing job interview:

      "So . . . in your last job, you looked at pussy all day . . . ?"

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  5. Re:Not even by DogDude · · Score: 5, Insightful

    corporations should refrain from antagonizing people.

    Fuck you. That's never a justification for violence. Ever.

    Asshole.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  6. SERIOUSLY by cstacy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As one of the most snarky people on Slashdot, and having even first-posted a Youtube joke here, I would like to in all seriousness express my sadness that people were attacked, injured, and I hope they all survive and recover. This is a tragedy, both for the individuals involved and their families, and for our society. I am sure that I can speak for many people, with many opinions about the societal implications and wildly differing views on the etiology of these kinds of attacks, when I say here that we give our condolences to the victims and their loved ones.

    I wanted there to be at least one non-political non-asshole comment to this effect on Slashdot.

  7. Shooter is female, shot boyfriend by Spy+Handler · · Score: 3, Informative

    Don't have links or citations, I'm watching local TV and radio news here in California. As with early reports of a breaking story, many or all of these details could be wrong. Take with a grain of salt.

    - Shooter is described as a white female, wearing a dark headscarf.

    - One witness says she shot her boyfriend, 10 times.

    - Coroner has been called, so at least one person is dead

    - Suspect also reported dead possibly from a self-inflicted wound

    - At least 4 bystanders were hit by gunfire

  8. Re: Tubes, or... by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You can apply the same logic to illegal immigrants flowing into the self proclaimed " Sanctuary State ".

    Which is exactly why the rest of the US has problems with CA's stance on it because we know they're just going to end up everywhere else due to CA's high cost of living.

  9. Re:Tubes, or... by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Reactions:

    Ban all AR-15's

    Ban all semi-auto rifles (same as above).

    Ban all guns....

    Think of the children!!

    Wait....it's a chick that did the shooting?

    #MeToo

    Ban all bad boyfriends, they deserve what they get....

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  10. Re:19 years to the month of Columbine by Mascot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That does not seem to be true. The specifics depend on your definition of "gun", but if assuming you mean handgun, then google suggests you can definitely own that in Australia. Not in the US "I need this... because.. I just do, ok, gief all the guns!" fashion, but as an active member of a club you can apply for a permit. If "gun" includes rifles and shotguns, then you can own those in England too, as far as I can tell.

    From where I sit, regulation seems to be the crucial factor, with bans applying only to categories of firearms. Along with regulation you seem to get a culture where guns are treated with proper respect as opposed to as throwaway items anyone can possess without question or training and toss loaded into their nightstand drawers.

    I don't believe there's a single solution that will work for every nation, there are so many factors at play, but it seems fairly self-evident that a good start is to do something different from what the US has been doing.

  11. Re:And Texas? by greythax · · Score: 5, Informative

    So much less what exactly?

    Wikipedia shows:

    New Hampshire: Gun ownership 14.4%, gun murders per 100,000: 0.4
    Illinois: Gun ownership 26.2%, gun murders per 100,000: 2.8
    Texas: Gun ownership 35.7%%, gun murders per 100,000: 3.2 (or as I like to call it, Illinois and New Hampshire combined)

    I'm not suggesting that gun ownership rates are the only factor, but you seem to be fact deficient, so I decided I would help you out :)

  12. Re:Tubes, or... by harrkev · · Score: 5, Insightful

    All it needs to do is save one innocent life and it'll be worth it.

    So why can't we use the same argument when it comes to stopping illegal immigrants?

    How about lowering the speed limit to 55 nation-wide?

    We could also use this as a justification for repealing the 4th amendment while we are at it. Let cops pull people over on a hunch. After all, if it saves one innocent life, it'll be worth it.

    --
    "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  13. Re:Tubes, or... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    So, you say that in the US, we start to cater to the lowest common denominator eh?

    Ok..so, lets get rid of all semi-automatic weapons (after all that is ALL the AR-15 is, it is nothing more).

    Even though millions of people own them and responsibly own them, just because a few idiots go off, we have to take away everyones ability to own them?

    This is more a people problem than gun problem.

    It wasn't that long ago (think 60's-70's) when you could easily buy a gun (pistol or rifle or shotgun) with no background check, at the local hardware store, or even mail order, no problem.

    Hell, in High School in the late 70's early 80's, I remember tons of folks parking in the student parking lot with gun racks in their truck, with loaded rifles in them....no problem.

    So, with easier access, we had no real problem with mass shootings, and I never heard of one in schools then.

    And if you want to go extreme...machine guns.

    You know you CAN today own one legally, right?

    All you have to do is fill out some ATF forms, pay your $200 tax stamp and you can own and shoot your own machine gun.

    The only thing today is, as a civilian, you can only buy ones made before 1986. IN 1986, they snuck in a law (see the Hughes amendment) that said civilians couldn't own full auto weapons (which an AR-15 is not) made before 1986.

    Prior to the Hughes amendment in 1986, you could freely buy a brand new machine gun easily. Just pay a tax stamp and fill out a form.

    But tell me....can you list a bunch of machine gun crimes during that time period of the 50's and 60's?

    Ok, I'll give you the roaring 20's with Al Capone, but there were also there circumstances going on then too.

    So, it wasn't that long ago, that we have MUCH easier access to fire arms, even fully automatic ones, yet, we didn't have the problems with mass shootings we have now, in schools, etc.

    And even with these.... gun violence overall in the US has been declining over the past years..

    So, over all, things have gotten better, and yet...we're wanting to have law abiding Americans, the VAST majority of gun owners in the US, millions of them...give up their rights, to cater to the lowest denominator of a few whack-o's...right?

    And we're wanting to do this and make things harder on the vast majority legal law abiding citizens, even though so many of the laws already on the books are NOT being enforced...?

    Hmm....I just don't buy that argument. We do not need to start treating the law abiding more and criminals and deprive them of their rights and property, and the privilege of protecting themselves and their homes.

    I won't even get into reasons pertaining to the founding fathers wanting us armed, against tyranny of government that could happen.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  14. Re:Tubes, or... by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's not track who owns or possesses guns (but gods dammit, we need to register people that smoke pot!)

    The government has no reason to know what property I own, and a gun is nothing more than property, a tool.

    There is no good reason for registration other than for potential confiscation.

    I don't think they need to know if you want to smoke pot either, none of their fscking business.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  15. Re:And Texas? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    One of the most informative infographics about mass shootings in America. But as this story unfolds, it's clear that those speaking about arming teachers is just a band-aid. We want children to be safe in schools, but workplaces are okay? By numbers, workplaces are a more dangerous place than schools both in the number of shootings and the number of people killed. Should we make illegal rules and contracts that stipulate against guns on private property? Do we pretend any of that makes sense as people with an intent to kill rarely obey the laws or rules to carry a gun and more guns almost always leads to more gun accidents and death without at least a minimal higher standard on gun ownership and possession?

    I definitely wouldn't pretend I have the exact answers. To some extent, I think we over-sensationalize gun violence because as horrible as it is, we're not approaching it from the mindset of it being an aberration from an otherwise utopia. While there's certain statistics that can be argued about other countries to justify strict gun laws, it would seem like a large part of the problem is the culture that thinks guns are a solution to a lot of problems they simply aren't.

    Perhaps that's the real point of the sensationalism? Except we don't have that discussion. We don't go to movies, watch a "hero" shooting (and presumably killing) hundreds of people and then at the end have a queasy feeling in our stomach because as much as it's a fantasy, we enjoy too much that fantasy. As a gamer who realizes that games aren't real life, I have that feeling when I start seeing gorier games. It's part of the reason why I simply won't play a large number of more horror-focused games. You see, the point isn't really that you can't enjoy playing them or tell the difference between them and life. It's that at some level, realizing what you are playing so invoke you a certain feeling of disgust about it. I simply don't see that in the eyes of a lot of people who are pro guns.

    Perhaps it's fear that clouds their judgement. Maybe I'm just not seeing that revulsion because I haven't looked hard enough for it. What I do know is that we need more the discussion about why we celebrate guns so much while ignoring the real harm they can and do cause.

  16. Re:And Texas? by blindseer · · Score: 3, Informative

    Can you show any correlation between gun laws and violent crime? I actually did a study on that for a statistics project at university, I found no correlation between gun laws and violent crime.

    I'd like to see this correlation you claim.

    Don't take my word for it though. I did do a statistical analysis but so did a lot of other people with much more experience in this than I have.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com...

    That link is just one example I could find with a short Google search.

    I'll hear people make claims about "gun deaths" correlating to gun ownership. I don't care if the person got murdered with a gun, a knife, or by being tossed out a window. If we want to see murder go down then it can't be done with gun laws. We might see "gun deaths" go down but that's like saying "pool drownings" go down by banning pools while total drownings stay the same because now people go swim in a lake instead.

    --
    I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  17. Re:Tubes, or... by sexconker · · Score: 5, Informative

    Even California has relatively weak controls compared to most counties and compared to what people are asking for.

    Noooooooooooope.

    California has some of the most restrictive and nonsensical rules regarding guns, and loooooooves denying or just ignoring valid permit applications for no reason.
    Unless you're a certain congress woman, then you get to pack heat while telling everyone else they can't.

  18. Re:Tubes, or... by sexconker · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The sad fact is that most people who want to own a gun by definition have mental health issues.

    Nope. The fact is people who are afraid of guns have an irrational phobia. And that is a mental issue.

  19. Re:Then this happens... by Jodka · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apparently a woman in some sort of black head covering

    We should not jump to conclusions here, but given that description it is likely that she was a Catholic Nun.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas une signature.
  20. Re:Tubes, or... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    so you have issues with vehicle registration as well?

    Well, honestly, I don't see the need for it really.

    It is there mainly as a means of tracking tax revenue IMHO...

    However, if you buy a car and don't drive it on public roads, you don't need to register it.

    So, as long as I don't use or shoot my guns illegally in public where restricted (analagous to not driving on public roads)....the govt. has no reason to know what or how many I have.

    They don't require me to register my knives or hammers in my household, yet those are tools too...and they can even be used to harm or even kill people.

    The gun is nothing more than an inanimate tool. I have never once had a problem with any of them spontaneously coming to life and shooting someone or something by themselves.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  21. Re:Tubes, or... by quantaman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The sad fact is that most people who want to own a gun by definition have mental health issues.

    Nope. The fact is people who are afraid of guns have an irrational phobia. And that is a mental issue.

    Nope. The fact is you're both full of it.

    Neither ownership of a gun, nor a fear of guns, is a sign of mental illness.

    It's possible to debate a topic without claiming the other side only holds their position due to a mental defect.

    --
    I stole this Sig
  22. Re:Tubes, or... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Informative

    In most countries you can't even get a permit unless you have a really, really good reason. Compared to most developed countries even California is relatively permissive, just not relative to the rest of the US.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  23. Re: And Texas? by blindseer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Lemme guess, that's not valid because

    Because gathering up all the guns is specifically prohibited by our Constitution.

    Also, just imagine what would happen if Congress did in fact pass a law banning the ownership of guns. I'd imagine a lot of hillbillies would not take to kindly to that and they'd be stacking up dead cops like cordwood. You think people wouldn't shoot a cop over them taking their guns? Are you sure you want to find out? Tell you what, you get to be the guy that knocks on the door. I'll just see how that turns out by reading the obituaries in the newspapers.

    There's more guns in the USA than people. There's more armed citizens than there are soldiers and police officers combined. That's assuming the people in uniform would go along with the ban. They'd likely join the hillbillies or go run off and hide so they didn't end up dead.

    There's an estimated 5 million members of the National Rifle Association and an estimated 2 million members of the US Armed Forces (active and reserves). That alone leaves the military outnumbered 2 to 1. But the Army has tanks! Yeah, that's going to work out well for everybody. Let's just start another civil war in the USA, because that last one only killed off 3% of the population.

    I've heard how those gun confiscations turned out in Australia, Canada, even some they attempted in the USA in states like California and New York. They had maybe a 1/3rd compliance rate. They knew how many of these guns were sold, they tracked that much. Only 1/3rd were turned in willingly. Where's the rest of them? How are you planning on getting those? Again, I'll read up on how that turns out in the obituaries.

    They can't ban the guns because nobody knows where they all are. I don't even know where all of my guns are. I talked to my mom and brother and they don't know where all their guns are. It's not like they are lost, I have my guns in my house, my mom has her guns in her house, my brother keeps his guns somewhere in his shed. We just have so many we might forget where they all might be if someone came asking.

    The government could go around and gather up 300 million guns and there would still be 60 million they didn't find. It's not like a gun is all that complex, people make them in garages just for fun. You think if the government made a pile of 360 million guns that they'd have them all? Nope, people would be making them faster than the government could find them. Go look up "ghost gun" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

    --
    I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  24. The gun is nothing more than an inanimate tool. by Immerial · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The gun is nothing more than an inanimate tool. I have never once had a problem with any of them spontaneously coming to life and shooting someone or something by themselves.

    Bullshit! Yea, well nukes are nothing more than an inanimate tools as well. I have never once had a problem with any of them spontaneously coming to life and nuking someone or something by themselves. Yet I don't see anyone arguing that it should be okay for anyone to walk around with one.