YouTube Shooting: Nasim Aghdam's Father Says He Called Police Concerned About Her Anger At Company
MENIFEE (CBSLA) — The father of Nasim Aghdam, the woman who went on a deadly shooting spree Tuesday at YouTube's headquarters in Northern California, says his daughter became upset with the streaming video company when they stopped paying her.
Aghdam's father was too emotional to go on camera, but told CBS2 News' reporter Tina Patel that his daughter had gone missing for a few days. He said he had called law enforcement in the San Diego area because he was concerned about her recent ire towards YouTube.
He said law enforcement authorities contacted him Tuesday at 2 a.m., telling him they had found his daughter safe in her car in Mountain View in Northern California. When the family realized that was near YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, they told police about her recent complaints about how the company was "ruining her life." They claim police told them they would be keeping an eye on her.
Ismail Aghdam told the Mercury News via phone his daughter became angry with YouTube after the company stopped paying for the content she posted online.
In a since-deleted video on the site, Aghdam, who would have turned 40 in two days, complained that YouTube had started filtering her page, adding age restrictions to keep her viewership down.
"They want you to be their sex slaves and not think outside the box they designed for you! Your knowledge is their enemy," Aghdam, who went under the name "Nasim Wonder 1" on her YouTube channel, said in the video.
Her family told CBS2 she had been making a living as a YouTube personality. She posted upbeat videos of herself dancing and singing in English, Farsi and Turkish in front of a green screen. She sometimes wore masks and talked about animal rights and going vegan.
Aghdam's family said that, as far as they knew, she had never owned a gun. They also believe she did not know anyone at YouTube personally, adding they were not aware of any motive she could have had.
This story has been updated.