Female shooting suspect dead after attack on YouTube headquarters
A woman has opened fire at YouTube HQ in San Francisco, wounding four people before shooting herself dead, prompting panic as employees hid and tried to flee, police and witnesses say.
Officers and federal agents swarmed the company's headquarters complex in the city of San Bruno on Tuesday (local time) as multiple 911 reports came in reporting gunfire.
The victims have gunshot wounds and have been taken to hospitals, San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini told reporters.
A spokesman for San Francisco General Hospital said it received three patients - a 36-year-old man in a critical condition, a 32-year-old woman in a serious condition and a 27-year-old woman in a fair condition.
The shooting happened just after 12.30pm on Tuesday (local time).
Officers in the city's south of San Francisco warned people in a Twitter message to stay away from the address where YouTube, owned by Google, is based.
Staff from YouTube were told to hide under their desks and anyone who was outside the building was ordered away from it with their hands on their heads.
Dozens of police responding to the incident say they heard a short burst of rapid gunfire.
Product manager at the company, Vadim Lavrusik, tweeted saying he "heard shots".
"Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers," he said.
He tweeted about 15 minutes later saying he was "safe" and that he had been evacuated.
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Todd Sherman, another product manager in the building, wrote on Twitter: "We were sitting in a meeting and then we heard people running because it was rumbling the floor. First thought was earthquake."
On the way out of the building he "looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs".
The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed and that his administration was monitoring the ongoing situation in San Bruno.
"Was just briefed on the shooting at YouTube’s HQ in San Bruno, California. Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved. Thank you to our phenomenal Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders that are currently on the scene," President Trump tweeted.
TV helicopter video shows officers patting down people grouped outside a building and police vehicles surrounding the area.
Police Chief Barberini said in a press conference a "few hundred" people had escaped from the building.
He described containing the scene as a "monumental task" with the number of employees that work inside the building.
He couldn't provide details on any possible weapons used or any new information on the shooter.
Chief Barberini added that they had located a "victim with what we believed is a self-inflicted gunshot wound".
"It's a female but the investigation is still ongoing before we can put all the pieces together," he said.
Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, released a statement on the shooting and said "the best information" they have is that the situation is "contained".
"It's with great sadness that I tell you - based on the latest information - four people were injured in his horrific act of violence. We're doing everything we can to support them and their families at this time," he said.
Natalie Mangiante an employee at Big Mouth Burgers located near the YouTube building, said by phone that "customers said they heard what could have been gunshots when they were on their way here". Mangiante said she did not see or notice anything.
Witnesses reported helicopters on the scene as well as police SWAT teams.
San Bruno is around 17km south of San Francisco.
Last month, YouTube announced it would ban content promoting the sale of guns and gun accessories as well as videos that teach how to make guns.
