Shooting suspect scoped out library before returning with a shotgun and killing 2, police say

The 18-year-old fishy successful a shooting astatine a Northern California room did a walkthrough of the building, past went to his vehicle, got a shotgun and fatally changeable a antheral astatine the main doorway and different inside, instrumentality enforcement said Tuesday.

Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge said gunshots and screams could beryllium heard connected a 911 telephone Monday evening from the Chico subdivision of the Butte County Library. Officers arrived wrong 2 minutes of the call, helium said.

“From the archetypal 911 telephone to having him successful custody was little than 4 minutes,” Aldridge said, praising officers for stemming the nonaccomplishment of life.

The fishy changeable a antheral astatine the entranceway of the room successful the limb and past changeable him successful the caput earlier firing aggregate shots wrong and shooting different antheral successful the head, said Sid Patel, peculiar cause successful complaint successful the FBI’s Sacramento office.

“Yesterday’s convulsive onslaught was horrific,” Patel said. “The afloat unit of the FBI is assisting this investigation.”

Details look connected the victims and the arrest

Authorities identified the men who died arsenic 46-year-old Jacob Hull and 74-year-old Robert Johnson.

A kid was taken to a infirmary with a insignificant injury, Aldridge said. Her sanction was not released.

The fishy fled retired the backmost of the room arsenic officers entered, but further instrumentality enforcement unit down the gathering took the antheral into custody, Aldridge said during a quality league aft the arrest.

“The incidental this evening was evidently precise sad, traumatic for a batch of people. Very traumatic for our community,” Aldridge said.

Officers recovered a shotgun from the level of the room and 2 different guns from the suspect’s car. The weapons were registered to the suspect’s family, the constabulary main said, without providing immoderate different information.

The shooting successful Chico — a metropolis of astir 100,000 people, is 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco and location to California State University, Chico — shocked the assemblage successful the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and led authorities to accidental they volition adhd information unit astatine each room location.

There person been astatine slightest 3 fatal attacks astatine libraries successful the past 9 years.

A antheral successful Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to beingness successful situation aft pleading blameworthy to fatally shooting a antheral successful a room and different antheral successful a convenience store successful 2023. In 2020, a fishy was sent to a intelligence wellness installation aft helium pleaded blameworthy to fatally stabbing a room information defender successful Spring Valley, New York. A teen who pleaded blameworthy to fatally shooting 2 nationalist room employees successful Clovis, New Mexico, successful 2017 was besides sentenced to beingness successful prison.

“A room should beryllium a spot of joy,” said Misty Wright, manager of nationalist libraries successful Butte County. “Most of each it should beryllium a spot that feels safe. Yesterday that information was shattered.”

Wright said that earlier the shooting, the libraries were visited by “mobile patrols” and that she she wasn't definite if they are armed.

A video from the country shows constabulary patrol cars surrounding the one-story, ceramic gathering and officers pointing their rifles astatine the building. Another video shows a antheral look down connected the crushed being handcuffed by a constabulary serviceman who past picks him up and hands him to different serviceman who walks him distant from the building.

The streets astir the room were closed temporarily and a household reunification halfway was acceptable up for the radical who were wrong the building.

Police aboriginal determined the fishy acted unsocial and identified him arsenic Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico. Sayer graduated from Chico High School connected June 5, Patel said.

He was booked into the Butte County Jail connected suspicion of 2 counts of murder. There was nary denotation helium had immoderate anterior narration with oregon transportation to the victims, constabulary said.

Officials said Tuesday that Sayer's household has retained an attorney, but didn't merchandise the lawyer's name. A hunt Tuesday of Butte County tribunal records did not amusement Sayer’s name.

Suspect demonstrated an affinity for Columbine shootings

At the clip of the shooting, Sayer was wearing a achromatic T-shirt inscribed with the words “natural selection,” mimicking a T-shirt with the aforesaid slogan worn by Eric Harris, 1 of 2 shooters successful the 1999 Columbine massacre successful Colorado, Patel said.

“He had been a fan, and a instrumentality for a agelong time” of the Columbine shootings connected societal media, Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said.

Sayer is scheduled to beryllium arraigned Thursday, helium said.

Jeannie Lee Schroeder was connected a metropolis autobus that stopped adjacent the room erstwhile she noticed the ample constabulary presence. As officers carrying guns marched toward the street, the autobus operator started driving away. Schroeder began signaling video connected her phone.

“And arsenic we were driving, and I’m filming, I spot a idiosyncratic successful a light-colored garment moving toward the street, toward wherever the autobus was at,” Schroeder said Tuesday. “And past determination was an serviceman down him, and different serviceman coming astatine the broadside of him, and that’s erstwhile they tackled him down. And past they apprehended him.”

Police said the Butte County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are assisting successful the investigation.

All Butte County room branches were to beryllium closed Tuesday, officials said.

___ Corrects to amusement that 2 men were killed, not a antheral and a woman.

___

Associated Press writers Claudia Lauer successful Philadelphia and Kathy McCormack successful Concord, New Hampshire, besides contributed.

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