SAN BRUNO, CA—Cautioning against the possibility that disturbed video bloggers may seek to emulate the actions of Nasim Aghdam, law enforcement authorities released a statement on Wednesday addressing fears that the YouTube shooter may inspire a wave of copycat content creators. “As guardians of public safety, we can’t help but worry that the attention this unfortunate, depraved individual has attracted may motivate others like her to step in front of a green screen and inflict their prank videos, makeup tutorials, and self-written rap parodies on hundreds of innocent people,” San Bruno police officer Matthew Conway said in a press conference this morning, during which he also requested that those following the story carefully refrain from watching or sharing the shooter’s incredibly disturbing videos. “Unfortunately, there is no shortage of people with a predisposition to throw on a crazy wig, step in front of a camera, and attempt to go viral, almost always with tragically catastrophic results. Given the wide availability of smartphones and laptop cameras, it’s only a matter of time before some sick individual tries to duplicate Aghdam’s actions. We can only offer our condolences to the estimated one in four Americans who have already fallen victim to such content and work to prevent it from happening again.” Conway also provided the number of an anonymous hotline to help any at-risk individuals who may contemplate turning to YouTube video production.

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