After Nasim Aghdam opened fire inside YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California, wounding multiple people, authorities quickly determined that she was motivated by a grudge against the platform for demonetizing her video channels. Hours prior to the bloodshed, however, the Mountain View police discovered the San Diego resident sleeping in her car in a Walmart parking lot. Given that she matched the description of a missing person (Aghdam’s family had filed such a report), police chatted with her for a few minutes, and they’ve now released the resulting bodycam footage.
During the course of the conversation with Aghdam, police observed no reason to detain her. She appears relatively calm, despite her unusual mannerisms, and she answers “no” when officers ask if she was taking medication or is suicidal. When police tell Aghdam that she’s been reported missing, she explains that she had conflict with her family and wanted to move away from San Diego to make a “fresh start.” Before the footage concludes, officers tell Aghdam that they will inform her father that she was located Mountain View, and this appears to be the end of the conversation.
In a statement, the Mountain View PD explained why they released this footage. “We believe that sharing our officers’ footage is tantamount to our constant pursuit of transparency,” they declared. The department also explains that it didn’t record their conversations with Aghdam’s father, Ismail, who reportedly tried to warn officers that Aghdam was upset with YouTube, which is why she may have traveled to the area. However, the PD claims that Ashdam’s family did not voice concerns about her being violent or a danger to others.
(Via USA Today & Mountain View PD)