18-year-old arrested for 'Columbine' massacre shooting at Chico library

CHICO, Calif. - An 18-year-old suspect has been arrested after a shooting at a library in Northern California left two people dead, Chico police said Tuesday, adding that his motivation "appears to be founded in a desire to commit a Columbine High School massacre type of shooting."

'Columbine High massacre' 

What we know:

Chico police Chief Billy Aldridge on video that gunshots and screams could be heard on that 5:12 p.m. Monday call from the Chico branch of the Butte County Library. 

The suspect – identified as Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico – fled out the back of the library as officers entered, but additional law enforcement personnel behind the building took the teen into custody, Aldridge said during a news conference.

"The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community," Aldridge said.

Relationship to victims unclear

What we don't know:

Why Sayer targeted people inside the library was unclear. Police said it didn't seem like he knew the victims. 

The streets around the library were closed temporarily and a family reunification center was set up for the people who were inside the building.

Police said two people were confirmed to be dead, while a child at the library was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police later determined Sayer acted alone, and he was booked into the Butte County Jail on suspicion of two counts of murder.

A police department dispatcher early Tuesday did not know if Sayer has a lawyer and no one could be immediately reached at the jail. A search of Butte County court records did not show his name and a phone number could not be found for him.

Police said the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.

Libraries closed

Big picture view:

All Butte County library branches will be closed Tuesday, officials said.

Chico, a city of about 100,000 people, is 150 miles northeast of San Francisco.

In a Facebook post, the county offered its "deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident."

It wasn’t the first act of violence at a U.S. library.

A man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting a man in a library and another man in a convenience store in 2023. 

In 2020, a suspect was sent to a mental health facility after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a library security guard in Spring Valley, New York. A teenager who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting two public library employees in Clovis, New Mexico, in 2017 was also sentenced to life in prison.

Anyone with information related to the shooting is asked to contact the Chico Police Department at 530-897-4911.

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