Shooting at YouTube HQ in California
Three people were shot and wounded at the headquarters of YouTube, located in San Bruno, California, last Wednesday. The suspect opened fire with a handgun around lunchtime, shooting three people before taking her own life. The suspect has been identified as Nasim Aghdam, a woman YouTuber whose content ranged from music videos to fitness videos to videos about veganism. She had been reported missing by her family the weekend before the shooting, and eleven hours before her alleged rampage, police found her sleeping in her car and contacted her family to inform them she had been found. Aghdam had been upset with YouTube, claiming that they had censored her videos; on her personal website, she stated, “There is no equal growth opportunity on YouTube or any other video sharing site.” Aghdam had no personal connection to any of the employees injured. Four people were admitted to the hospital after the shooting, three for gun wounds, and one for an injury sustained while exiting the building.
Deaths in Kashmir leads to protests
Demonstrations have erupted in Southern Kashmir after the killing of at least 12 militants and four civilians in Kashmir, an Indian state bordering Pakistan, on April 1. As opposed to the rest of the primarily Hindu India, the state of Kashmir is predominantly Muslim and has been the center of three previous wars between Pakistan and India, both of whom lay claims to the area. This led to a separatist movement starting in the 1980s that continues today. Hostility in the state has been on the rise, with more deaths from military-related conflict in 2017 than in the past seven years. The deaths of the militants, most of whom were locals, have sparked a massive outcry in Kashmir, with a complete shutdown of schools, universities and shops in protest. Protesters took to the streets, throwing stones and yelling anti-Indian sentiments, and were dispersed by a police force that used tear gas, pellets and stun grenades against the protesters.
Knife attacks in London indicative of larger problem
Five separate knifings in London that happened within twenty-four hours of each other indicate the rise of knife attacks in the city. The incidents left six people, five of them teens, in the hospital, and led to the arrest of a man who is being charged with attempted murder, along with three teens who are suspected to be connected to one of the knifings. These knifings come on the heels of the murders of over 50 people in London since January, most from stabbing. The attacks have not been centered on any particular part of London and have led to widespread protests and calls for peace around the city. Knife crimes in general are on the rise in England, with the biggest spike being knives used for sexual assault, along with being the most used weapon in homicides. However, crime overall has gone down in the past few years.
