Officials are seen following a possible shooting at the headquarters of YouTube, in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media.
San Francisco: Police said Tuesday they were responding to an "active shooter" at YouTube's offices in California as social media images showed employees evacuating the campus.
San Bruno police warned on Twitter to stay away from the area housing the headquarters of the Google-owned video sharing service near San Francisco.
"We are responding to an active shooter. Please stay away from Cherry Ave & Bay Hill Drive," the police department tweeted.
Google tweeted: "Re: YouTube situation, we are coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available."
Re: YouTube situation, we are coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available.
— Google Communications (@Google_Comms) April 3, 2018
AP adds:
Google, which owns the online video website, posted on Twitter that the company is coordinating with authorities.
City Manager Connie Jackson says there have been multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting and that police and fire officials have responded.
Television images 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 then patted down people grouped outside.
Reuters flashes:
San Francisco general hospital says it received unknown number of victims from incident at YouTube offices
Bloomberg adds:
Vadim Lavrusik, a product manager at YouTube, earlier wrote on Twitter that he and coworkers were barricaded inside a room at the 901 Cherry Ave. headquarters, before later tweeting "Safe. Got evacuated. Outside now.”
If you’re a friend in news, I know you are doing your job and appreciate you reaching out to check if I’m okay but the last thing I want to do is an interview right now. We are all shakin up.
— Vadim Lavrusik (@Lavrusik) April 3, 2018
"We are coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available,” Google said in a statement. Google hasn’t communicated anything about the incident yet to employees, according to multiple people at the company.
The San Bruno Police Department, on Twitter, described the incident as "an active shooter.” Earlier a police representative said the department was assessing the reports and "dealing with emergency calls only now.”
We are responding to an active shooter. Please stay away from Cherry Ave & Bay Hill Drive.
— San Bruno Police (@SanBrunoPolice) April 3, 2018
San Bruno is a city 11 miles south of downtown San Francisco which is adjacent to San Francisco International Airport.
The city has been the home of YouTube, the world’s largest online video site, for more than a decade.
It unofficially marks the beginning of Silicon Valley and is also home to a major Walmart e-commerce office.
A Google employee at a nearby complex to the YouTube office said several police sirens were heard around the office and that colleagues inside of the building are texting them updates.
Videos and photos posted to Snapchat show police officers running into the YouTube offices.
People were also seen evacuating the offices in a line with their hands up in the air, according to the videos.
Television reports showed police officers patting down people who had left the building to check for weapons.
