YouTube shooting: Three injured and female suspect dead with 'self-inflicted gunshot wound' after incident at tech giant's California base

Multiple witnesses describe scenes of confusion as people heard a series of pops and realised they were listening to gunfire

Police responding to a shooting incident on the campus of US tech giant YouTube said a woman found dead with self-inflicted gunshot wounds was the likely attacker, bringing to an end a massive security operation in California's Silicon Valley.

At least three other people were found with injuries and were taken to hospital during the incident on Tuesday afternoon in San Bruno, around 10 miles south of San Francisco. Three people suffered gunshot wounds and one believed to have an ankle injury, according to San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini.

After reports of gunshots poured in and sent police to the YouTube campus, responding officers arrived to see “numerous employees” attempting to flee, Mr Barberini said.

“It was very chaotic,” he said. Mr Barberini could not comment on whether the suspect was a YouTube employee. He said the suspect was using a handgun but could not confirm the make or model.

“We know very, very little right now”, he said.

As officers cleared the scene in the ensuing hours, employees with stunned expressions and wearing Google-branded clothing steadily trickled off the campus and past police cars with their lights flashing. Some paused to embrace one another.

Multiple witnesses described scenes of confusion as people heard a series of pops and realised they were listening to gunfire.

“It was kind of a blur,” software engineer Sepand Parhami said, describing seeing blood trickling down a flight of stairs. “I don’t think it’s anything I ever really expected.”

Mr Barberini told reporters that at least one of the injured had been found on the campus. At least two others were found in adjacent buildings.

A spokesman for San Francisco General Hospital said it received three patients. Spokesman Brent Andrew said a 36-year-old man is in a critical condition, a 32-year-old woman was in a serious condition and a 27-year-old woman was in a fair condition.

The confirmation that the woman had been found dead brought to an end several hours of intense drama during which police and federal agents swarmed the company’s headquarters as multiple 911 calls reported gunfire.

Television news footage showed people leaving the building in a line, holding their arms in the air for police to inspect as they were leaving the building. Officers patted down people to make sure none had weapons and police vehicles surrounded the area

YouTube employee Vadim Lavrusik posted on Twitter that he heard gunshots and saw people running, according to the Associated Press. He said he was barricaded in a room with his co-workers before being safely evacuated.

Will Hudson said a friend who works for YouTube texted him about the shooter.

“I think there might be a shooter in my building,” read one text. “The fire alarm went off so we started to evacuate and then people (started) running saying there was a shooter.”

Northern California’s Stanford Hospital said it has received four to five patients, but a hospital spokeswoman did not have information on their conditions or their wounds.

Google, which owns the world’s biggest online video website, posted on Twitter that the company was coordinating with the authorities. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it had responded to the shooting at the tech firm’s campus.

The White House said Donald Trump was briefed on a shooting and that officials were monitoring it.

Mr Hudson said his friend made it safely back to San Francisco and was in contact with his family.

“It just feels strange. It feels like it could really be anyone. That’s really the strangeness of it,” he said.

Mr Barberini said police would be working around the clock on the scene as the investigation into what may have motivated the shooter is still unclear. "We have our crime lab folks out here and we have the coroner out here. It will be a long night," he said.

YouTube spokesman Chris Dale said the company’s “incredibly tight-knit community” was reeling, adding that “today it feels like the entire community of YouTube were victims of a crime".