REVEALED: Animal rights protester, 39, who shot three staff at YouTube's HQ before killing herself had a vendetta against the 'dictatorial' site for 'censoring her videos and not paying her'

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The woman who opened fire on three people before killing herself at YouTube's California headquarters has been identified as a frequent user of the site who was furious with the company for their 'dictatorial' new policies.

Nasim Aghdam, 39, shot a man and two women with a handgun when she stormed YouTube's headquarters in San Bruno on Tuesday afternoon. 

Aghdam, whose identity was first confirmed by NBC, was a prolific YouTuber who had ranted online against the company's new policies and accused them of censoring her videos.

Witnesses say Aghdam was wearing glasses and a scarf when she opened fire on YouTube employees.

Law enforcement officials initially said the shooting was being investigated as a domestic dispute after early indications suggested she had shot her boyfriend. 

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Nasim Aghdam, 39, has been identified as the woman who shot a man and two women with a handgun when she stormed YouTube's headquarters in San Bruno, California on Tuesday

Authorities cover a body with a yellow tarp at YouTube's headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday after a female shooter opened fire before she shot and killed herself

Aghdam, who is from Southern California but is Persian, regularly complained online that YouTube were filtering and demonetizing her various video channels

Aghdam, who was a self-described animal rights activist and 'vegan bodybuilder', had a significant online presence with multiple YouTube channels and social media pages.

In a video that Aghdam posted back in January 2017, she vented about her content being 'discriminated and filtered'. 

She also said that her YouTube channel, which had more than 5,000 subscribers, used to get many views but claimed she started getting less when the company started 'filtering' her videos.

Aghdam's YouTube channels and social media pages were all removed in the hours after the shooting.

Officers and federal agents swarmed YouTube's headquarters complex just before 1pm after dozens of panicked employees called 911 to report gunfire.

Upon arrival, police found the woman dead inside the campus with self-inflicted gunshot wounds. 

San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said three people were taken to hospitals in San Francisco with gunshot wounds. 

A 36-year-old man was in critical condition, a 32-year-old woman was in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman was in fair condition following the shooting.

Television news footage showed terrified employees 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 as police vehicles surrounded the area. 

Aghdam, who was a self-confessed animal rights activist and 'vegan bodybuilder', had a significant online presence with multiple YouTube channels and social media pages

Aghdam was a frequent user of YouTube who was furious with the company for their 'dictatorial' new policies

Aghdam was a prolific YouTuber who had ranted online against the company's new policies and for 'censoring her videos and not paying her'

In a video that Aghdam posted back in 2017, she vented about her content being 'discriminated and filtered'. She is a self-described Persian animal rights activist and 'vegan bodybuilder'

Aghdam is a self-described Persian animal rights activist and 'vegan bodybuilder'

Senior software engineer Zach Vorhies said a fire alarm had gone off in the building and workers were calmly evacuating before they realized it was an active shooting. 

Vorhies said as they were leaving he saw the shooter in a courtyard yelling: 'Come at me, or come get me.'

He said he froze and then noticed a victim on his back with what looked like a gunshot wound to his stomach. Vorhies said an officer with an assault rifle then came through a security door. 

Another employee, Dianna Arnspiger, said she was on the building's second floor when she heard gun shots, ran to a window and saw the shooter on a patio outside. 

She said the woman wore glasses and a scarf and was using a 'big huge pistol.' 

'It was a woman and she was firing her gun. I just said, 'Shooter,' and everybody started running,' Arnspiger said. 'It was terrifying.'

The police chief said at a press conference that officers discovered one victim with a gunshot wound when they arrived and then found the shooter with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound several minutes later.

He said two additional gunshot victims were later located at an adjacent business and that a fourth injured person suffered an ankle injury. 

Authorities found the shooter's body shortly after arriving. Her body, pictured above covered by a yellow tarp, was found near the shattered door (above on right) 

Terrified employees were spotted leaving YouTube's headquarters in San Bruno, California in a line after a shooter opened fire on Tuesday afternoon

A SWAT team is picturing entering YouTube HQ in San Bruno, California, on Tuesday after reports of shots being fired inside 

An injured woman stands outside YouTube's headquarters, while another employee cries on the phone after escaping the shooting on Tuesday

The adjacent business was a Carl's Jr on the same plaza where two women fled after being shot.

Police did not release any further information on the suspect or comment on her possible motives for the shooting rampage.

The shooting had no known connection to terrorism, US government security officials said.

Disturbing live accounts were given by YouTube employees who took to Twitter as the shooting unfolded. 

In a flurry of tweets, project manager Todd Sherman said: 'We were sitting in a meeting and then we heard people running because it was rumbling the floor. First thought was earthquake. 

'After existing (sic) the room we still didn't know what was going on but more people were running. Seemed serious and not like a drill. 

'We headed towards the exit and then saw more people and someone said that there was a person with a gun. S**t. 

'At that point every new person I saw was a potential shooter. Someone else said that the person shot out the back doors and then shot themselves.

'I looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs. Peaked (sic) around for threats and then we headed downstairs and out the front.'

Employee Vadim Lavrusik was one of the first to report the shooting, tweeting at around 1pm on Tuesday: 'Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers.'

Soon after, he tweeted: 'Safe. Got evacuated it. Outside now.' 

Officers and federal agents swarmed YouTube's headquarters complex just before 1pm after dozens of panicked employees called 911 to report gunfire

Heavily armed police stood guard outside the front entrance of YouTube's headquarters after the shooting broke out on Tuesday afternoon

Police search a building at YouTube's corporate headquarters as an active shooter situation was underway in San Bruno on Tuesday

YouTube employees leave the scene on Tuesday after a woman shot four people then herself

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the parent company of YouTube was doing everything it can to support the victims and their families

Google CEO Sundar Pichai called the shooting a 'horrific act of violence'. 

He said the parent company of YouTube was doing everything it can to support the victims and their families.

Pichai also said the company 'will continue to provide support to help everyone in our Google family heal from this unimaginable tragedy'.

The YouTube headquarters has more than a thousand engineers and other employees in several buildings on its 200,000 sq ft campus. 

President Donald Trump offered his 'thoughts and prayers' after being briefed on the shooting. 

'Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved. Thank you to our phenomenal Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders that are currently on the scene,' he tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. 

Following the shooting, California Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher speculated that the shooter could have been an illegal immigrant.

Without any facts, Rohrabacher drew links between the shooting and sanctuary cities during an interview with the Fox Business Network.

'You were going to discuss with me about sanctuary cities and the sanctuary state movement, and it fits right into what you're talking about right now,' he said.

'Would anyone be surprised? We have a state government in California that's trying to prevent our law enforcement people from working with the federal law enforcement people to get together the criminal illegal aliens, to deal with criminal illegal aliens.'  

There was an onslaught of emergency vehicles at the scene moments after the shots were fired

Officers are pictured running towards YouTube's San Bruno HQ on Tuesday amid reports of a shooter