YouTube Shooter Had History of Criticizing Platform, Expressed Frustration Her Videos Underperformed

The San Bruno Police Department has confirmed the identity of the woman who opened fire at YouTube headquarters as Nasim Najafi Aghdam. The 39-year-old woman was a resident of San Diego. Aghdam shot three people at YouTube’s campus in San Bruno, California before she killed herself on April 3. A fourth person was injured during the attack after hurting their ankle while trying to escape the gunfire. Aghdam appears to have had a history of criticizing YouTube online in the years prior to the attack.

According to CNN, authorities are investigating a website in which Aghdam appears in videos and wrote posts accusing YouTube of restricting her personal videos. Aghdam reportedly had multiple YouTube accounts and was unhappy with the video company’s censorship and revenue rules.

One post slammed YouTube employees for putting an age restriction on videos, claiming it reduced views on Aghdam’s videos. The woman says reduced views discouraged her from making new content.

NBC Bay Area reports that a video from January 2017 found Aghdam unhappy that her videos were underperforming with viewers after her page was “filtered” by YouTube. Another post from February 2017 criticized the company for providing “no equal growth opportunity” among users.

CNN reports that one of Aghdam’s YouTube channels was terminated on the evening of April 3 for “multiple or severe violations” of the company’s policies. Aghdam was the only fatality in the April 3 shooting. San Bruno law enforcement officials believe her motive is related to a domestic dispute.

IndieWire has reached out to YouTube for further comment.