
Nasim Aghdam was upset at YouTube’s decision to demonetize her videos
A 39-year-old Iranian woman went on a rampage at the YouTube headquarters and started shooting at people without no clear target. It turned out her anger came from the company’s recent decision regarding ad revenue, as well as the policy on gun videos. However, it seems the police had questioned her right before the attack, and no one thought she could be capable of it.
Police had interviewed Aghdam before the shooting
On Tuesday, Nasim Aghdam started a shooting at the YouTube headquarters, where she wounded three people and shot herself dead. The police later discovered the woman was mad at YouTube’s decision to demonetize her video. This happened as the company no longer agreed to violent content or display of firearms in videos.
It turns out police officers spotted the woman around the headquarters several hours before she started the rampage. They noticed her sitting in her, and decided to undertake an official questioning. Throughout a 20-minute interview, she told the police she had had trouble in her family. Thus, she was forced to leave her home, and had to sleep in her car.
She had given no evidence she had mental health issues
The woman gave no signs that she was a public threat, and she mentioned no words regarding her outrage towards YouTube. This way, the police let her go, as they found herself harmless. Immediately after the incident, they realized they had made a mistake.
They quickly identified her car, so they started looking for other places where Aghdam lived or passed. Also, they looked for other vehicles she had driven, and traced her gun to see who had bought it. This way, they found a woman who introduced herself as Aghdam’s aunt. She described the woman as a good person. Also, the aunt said she had never experienced any mental health episodes or anything similar.
At first, the police officers couldn’t find Aghdam’s motivation to start the shooting. They found no connection between her and the people she shot, and realized she had no clear target and started shooting randomly. Only after did they discover her concern was actually with YouTube.
Image source: United States Air Force Academy