2 killed in shooting at California library; suspect influenced by Columbine

An 18-year-old man who opened fire with a shotgun at a public library in Chico, California, was influenced by the Columbine High School massacre, local and federal officials said. Two people were killed and a juvenile girl was injured.

The shooting happened at 5:12 p.m. on Monday at the Chico branch of the Butte County Library, where dispatchers could hear screaming and gunshots during the initial 911 call, Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge said at a briefing on Tuesday.

The first officer arrived less than two minutes later and the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico, was taken into custody at 5:16 p.m., less than four minutes after the first call came in.

“I absolutely believe that this is what mitigated further loss of life to members from our community,” Aldridge said.

The victims were identified as 74-year-old Robert Johnson of Orland, California, and 46-year-old Jacob Hull of Chico. One of them died at the scene and the other succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, according to Butte County Sheriff and Coroner Kory Honea.

A juvenile girl was also injured by broken glass and taken to a hospital with injuries which were not life-threatening. She has since been released and is with her family, Aldridge said. All three victims were patrons of the library.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said the suspect, who graduated from Chico High School on June 5, appeared to be looking for a confined and populated place to attack. He said Sayer first walked through the library without a weapon, returned to his vehicle, opened the trunk and took out a shotgun.

As the suspect entered the library, he shot an adult near the entrance, striking him in the leg before shooting him in the head. He then went farther inside the building, where another victim was shot in the head and killed.

Officials said about eight rounds were fired inside the library. A shotgun was recovered from the floor of the library, while two additional firearms were found inside the suspect’s vehicle. Authorities said the firearms were registered within the suspect’s family.

Chief Aldridge said the suspect had no known connection to any of the victims.

Based on interviews and other evidence, detectives believe he was influenced by the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado.

FBI agent Patel said the suspect was wearing a white T-shirt with the words “natural selection” handwritten in black marker, a reference authorities believe was tied to Columbine gunman Eric Harris, who wore a shirt with the same phrase during the 1999 attack.

District Attorney Michael Ramsey said the suspect was a longtime follower of social media content involving Columbine and other school shootings and “decided yesterday to act and copycat” that kind of attack.

Sayer is being held in isolation at the Butte County Jail. Ramsey said he is expected to appear in Butte County Superior Court at 3 p.m. on Thursday, where prosecutors expect to charge him with two counts of first-degree murder. Investigators are still reviewing witness statements for possible attempted murder charges.

Police said the attack appears to have been isolated and there is no known further threat to the community.

Misty Wright, Butte County’s director of libraries, said the library system is arranging to have security personnel at each location. The Chico branch had already been scheduled to close temporarily in August for renovations and will reopen once the work is complete.

“A library should be a place of joy,” Wright said. “It should be a place where people of all ages come to learn, connect, laugh, and discover something new. Most importantly, it should be a place where people feel safe. And yesterday, that sense of safety was shattered.”