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Google: YouTube shooting was ‘deeply shocking and disturbing’

The company will be ramping up security.

 

Christine Friar

Streaming

Posted on Apr 5, 2018   Updated on May 21, 2021, 7:31 pm CDT

YouTube has announced plans to increase security in all of its offices worldwide following the shooting at its San Bruno, California, headquarters Tuesday that injured three and killed one.

The suspected shooter, Nasim Aghdam, had blogged extensively about the streaming giant’s revenue policies. While investigators have not declared a motive, the 39-year-old was disgruntled over the demonetizing of videos about veganism and fitness on her channel and felt the company had harmed her financial well-being.

In a statement released through Google’s Twitter account for communications Wednesday, YouTube says it intends to ramp up security at each of its corporate campuses to “make them more secure not only in the near term, but long-term.”

The company explained that it is “revisiting this incident in detail” to prevent future events. The shooter apparently entered the office’s courtyard through a parking garage, though she “never entered the building itself,” thanks in large part to security measures that were already in place. The San Bruno Police Department reportedly reached the scene within two minutes of a 911 call being placed.

It’s not yet clear whether Google, YouTube’s parent company, will be implementing stronger security measures beyond the YouTube campuses. Regardless, the announcement reflects a growing concern in Silicon Valley: that extreme online behavior may translate into antisocial or even violent offline actions.

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*First Published: Apr 5, 2018, 11:59 am CDT