Apple and HP temporarily lock up after murders

Apple and HP campuses closed off to the outside world on Wednesday after tragic shootings in the Cupertino area, staff confirmed to Wired. The two neighboring companies prevented staff in some buildings from going outside after Shareef Allman, an employee at the Lehigh Southwest Cement Permanente quarry at the end of Stevens Creek Boulevard, shot and killed three people while wounding seven others, according to local reports. While a significant distance away, the technology firms took the steps after Allman arrived at the HP campus, wounded one contractor, and stole a car.

Police are combing a roughly five mile radius around the quarry that includes both Apple and HP. All schools in the area have also been closed, and police are currently in a full-scale manhunt that includes checkpoints and door-to-door checks.

The incident is rare in Cupertino, which is considerably smaller and quieter than many other towns in the San Francisco Bay Area. Apple is considered by far to be the largest business in the area, with HP's offices less concentrated and soon to be replaced by Apple's "spaceship" campus.

Allman is still currently at large as of Wednesday afternoon. Staff said he was visibly upset in the shooting, but friends noted that he hadn't shown any unusual signs and that, until the shootings, he was a mediator who advocated non-violence.

By Electronista Staff