Police say YouTube shooting suspect's family gave no warning of her potential violence
SAN BRUNO, Calif. (KGO) -- Mountain View police who talked to the YouTube shooting suspect and her family before yesterday's attack at the company's headquarters say the family gave no warning of her potential for violence.
Nasim Aghdam's family recently reported her missing when she stopped answering her phone. Mountain View police found the suspect sleeping in her car Tuesday morning. They scanned the plates and realized she had been reported missing. They contacted her family down in Southern California. Aghdam's brother told reporters he warned police she might be going to YouTube.
"I Googled Mountain View, it was close to YouTube headquarters and she had problems with YouTube. So we called the cop again and told him that might the reason why she went all the way from San Diego to do that," said Aghdam's brother.
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Her brother said he did not know she had a gun.
The family of Nasim Aghdam released a statement Wednesday afternoon: "Our family is in the absolute shock and can't make sense of what has happened yesterday. Although no words can describe our deep pain for this tragedy, our family would like to express their utmost regret, sorrow for what happened to innocent victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families. We are praying for speedy recovery of the injured and ask God to bestow patience upon all persons hurt in this horrific senseless act. As our family struggles to cope with this chaotic situation we would like to kindly ask the media to respect our privacy and we thank the authorities."
Mountain View police released a statement saying in part: "At no point during that conversation did either Aghdam's father or brother make any statements regarding the woman's potential threat to, or a possible attack on, the YouTube campus." Scroll to the bottom for their full statement.
San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said his department had no information or contact with the suspect before the attack.
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Two victims in the attacks have been released from the hospital. The remaining patient, a male in his 30s, is currently in serious condition.
Police say Aghdam went to a shooting range in the Bay Area before the shooting. Authorities did not specify which range it was.
Investigators have issued a search warrant for Aghdam's home in Southern California to get a better idea of the motive behind the attack.
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"At this point in the investigation it is believed the suspect was upset with policies and practices of YouTube. This appears to be the motive for this incident," said Chief Barberini.
Police say Aghdam never actually got inside the building. Instead, she gained access through a parking garage and entered the outside courtyard of YouTube where employees were eating lunch.
Aghdam did not work at YouTube or know anybody there -- but she was very angry at the company. She posted a rant on her personal website saying YouTube's new ad policy was causing her to lose money. She also embedded videos from other YouTube users blasting what they called "Adpocalypse,"
Chief Barberini says they have the Aghdam's vehicle in their possession but have yet to complete a search of it. He says that's a slow, methodical process and no letter or manifesto has been found yet.
Click here for full coverage on the YouTube shooting in San Bruno.
The Mountain View Police Department released this statement on Wednesday:
"We wanted to take a moment to further address the reports regarding Mountain View officers' interactions with a woman responsible for the tragic event in San Bruno yesterday.
Around 1:40 am on Tuesday, April 3, Mountain View patrol officers proactively checked a license plate of a vehicle that was parked in a lot on the 600 block of Showers Drive. The license plate came back to a registered owner out of Southern California who had been reported missing on March 31 to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office. We called the Sheriff's Office to confirm the missing persons reports, and personnel there told us that in that report, the woman had been reported missing and "at risk" because she had never gone missing or left home before. We contacted the woman inside the vehicle, who was asleep, to check on her and to determine if she was the same person who had been reported missing.
The woman, identified as 38-year-old Manifee resident Nasim Aghdam, positively identified herself to us and told us during our contact with her that she had decided to leave her family's home a few days prior due to family issues. She stated she had come to the area to stay with family and while she was currently living out of her vehicle, she was in the process of looking for a job. During our contact with her, she was asked a series of questions including, but not limited to, if she was a danger to herself or others. At no point during our roughly 20 minute interaction with her did she mention anything about YouTube, if she was upset with them, or that she had planned to harm herself or others. Throughout our entire interaction with her, she was calm and cooperative.
At the conclusion of our interaction with her, she in no way met any reason for us to speak with her further or possibly detain her. A short time later, we phoned her family to let them know she had been located. During that call, we spoke with both the woman's father and her brother. The father confirmed to us that the family had been having issues at home, but did not act in any way concerned about why his daughter had left. At no point during that conversation did either Aghdam's father or brother make any statements regarding the woman's potential threat to, or a possible attack on, the YouTube campus. Also, there was no indication from either Aghdam or her family that she may have been in possession of any weapons.
Roughly one hour after our phone call to Aghdam's family, her father called us back to let us know that she made a series of vegan videos for her channel on YouTube and that the company had recently done something to her videos that had caused her to become upset.
Aghdam's father stated that she may have been in the area because of this. He did not seemed concerned that she was in the area, and wanted to simply let us know that may have been a reason for her move up here. Once again, at no point did her father or brother mention anything about potential acts of violence or a possibility of Aghdam lashing out as a result of her issues with her videos. They remained calm throughout this second phone call.
The incident at YouTube on Tuesday was a tragedy. No one should ever feel unsafe in their workplace. We have full confidence in the investigative efforts of the San Bruno Police Department and their colleagues as they tackle this case.
The victims of this heinous act and their families are in our thoughts during this extremely difficult time."
