YouTube Shooting: Satya Nadella, Tim Cook Offer Support to Victims

Several Silicon Valley leaders called for increased gun control on Tuesday afternoon, after a woman shot and wounded three people before taking her own life at the headquarters of YouTube.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki issued statements on Tuesday, while avoiding the topic of gun control.

There are no words to describe how horrible it was to have an active shooter @YouTube today. Our deepest gratitude to law enforcement & first responders for their rapid response. Our hearts go out to all those injured & impacted today. We will come together to heal as a family.

— Susan Wojcicki (@SusanWojcicki) April 4, 2018

There are no words to describe the tragedy that occurred today. @SusanWojcicki & I are focused on supporting our employees & the @YouTube community through this difficult time together. Thank you to the police & first responders for their efforts, and to all for msgs of support.

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) April 3, 2018

Silicon Valley on Gun Control

Tech companies have largely avoided the topic of gun control in the US, but they have previously pushed for progressive stances on other hot-topic issues, ranging from climate change to same-sex marriage and comprehensive immigration reform. At least three major chief executives took up gun control after the shooting.

Uber Technologies Inc CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Box Inc CEO Aaron Levie and Twitter Inc and Square Inc CEO Jack Dorsey sent tweets calling for #EndGunViolence and #NeverAgain, two Twitter hashtags commonly used by proponents of gun control.

On behalf of the team at @Uber, sending support to everyone @YouTube and @Google, and gratitude to the heroic first responders. Another tragedy that should push us again to #EndGunViolence

— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) April 3, 2018

Incredibly sad to see the YouTube shooting today 😳. Our thoughts are with our Google friends and their families. #NeverAgain

— Aaron Levie (@levie) April 3, 2018

We can’t keep being reactive to this, thinking and praying it won’t happen again at our schools, jobs, or our community spots. It’s beyond time to evolve our policies. This is a simple and reasonable approach, and it won’t solve all, but it’s a good start: https://t.co/ADYalbaO57 https://t.co/nbXpH9DDyT

— jack (@jack) April 3, 2018

Emergency calls reporting gunfire in San Bruno, California, at the headquarters of Alphabet Inc’s YouTube began to pour in early Tuesday afternoon, according to the city of San Bruno.

The tweets on Thursday could be an indication that Silicon Valley may soon weigh in on the epidemic of mass killings by firearms in the United States.

Stay Safe, Tech Leaders On Twitter

Other tech leaders expressed sympathy for the employees of YouTube on social media on Tuesday, without referencing gun control. These included Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, Amazon Inc CEO Jeff Bezos, Salesforce Inc CEO Marc Benioff and Facebook Inc Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.

From everyone at Apple, we send our sympathy and support to the team at YouTube and Google, especially the victims and their families.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 3, 2018

Horrible and truly tragic day for YouTube and Google. We are wishing all our very best for the injured and all those affected.

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 3, 2018

On behalf of all of Microsoft, our hearts are with everyone at YouTube and Google today and all those affected. https://t.co/dijMxGXGpD

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) April 4, 2018

Praying for the safety and well being of everyone at @YouTube.

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) April 3, 2018

(Source: Reuters)