Shooting at YouTube Headquarter

A woman shot and wounded three people at YouTube's headquarters in Northern California before killing herself. The shooting victims included a 36-year-old male, who is now in a critical condition, a 32-year-old woman who is in a serious condition and a 27-year-old woman. They are undergoing treatment in Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Another woman present at the shooting was treated for a twisted ankle in a different medical centre.

According to YouTube employees, who described scenes of panic as the incident gradually unfolded. The suspect approached an outdoor patio and dining area during lunchtime and opened fire.

San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said, the shooting suspect was a woman. Though Police are yet to identify the suspect and the motive behind the attack, she was armed with a handgun.

Ed Barberini also described the scene when officers arrived at the offices to find a “chaotic scene” with numerous people fleeing. One person with a bullet wound was found at the front of the company headquarters. Some minutes later officers found a woman who appeared to have shot herself. Two further victims were later discovered at a nearby business chambers.

Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of YouTube’s parent company, Google, called the shooting an “unimaginable tragedy” and said the company was working to support the victims and their families, in an email to all Google staff. He also said “it’s with great sadness that I tell you, based on the latest information four people were injured in this horrific act of violence, we’re doing everything we can to support them and their families at this time.”

YouTube spokesman Chris Dale praised the police response to the incident. “The attack made us feel that the entire community of YouTube and all of the employees were victims of this crime. Our hearts go out to those who suffered in this particular attack," he said.

US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed about the incident, in a Twitter post he wrote “Was just briefed on the shooting at YouTube’s HQ in San Bruno, California. Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved. I want to thank our phenomenal Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders that are working currently on the scene”.

News of the shooting initially spread on social media as YouTube employees posted about barricading themselves inside rooms as police and ambulances arrived at the scene.

According to a FBI report, female shooter is a rarity, of 160 active shooting incidents in the United States between 2000 and 2013 found that only 6 incidents or 3.8%, were perpetrated by a female shooter.

The shooting comes during a renewed debate over American gun control laws, following the Parkland shooting, which left 17 students and teachers dead. Hundreds and thousands of Americans, mostly the students demonstrated for stricter gun laws on 24rth March in Washington and across the country.

With Republicans in Congress blocking any new gun control legislation, much of the activism after the Parkland shooting has shifted to the private sector, with calls for boycotts and corporate action.

YouTube is one of the companies that introduced new policies after the Parkland shooting. It is the most visited site on web and therefore it is under constant scrutiny for its policy decisions over content moderation, monetization, and other issues. Last month, the company updated its policy on videos featuring firearms, expanding the list of accessories that cannot be featured in videos that sell them or instruct users how to manufacture or install the accessories.

Around 1,700 people work at the YouTube HQ. The company is owned by Google and is the biggest employer in the area.