Shooting suspect scoped out library before returning with a shotgun and
killing 2, police say
[June 24, 2026]
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
The 18-year-old suspect in a shooting at a Northern California library
did a walk-through of the building, then went to his vehicle, got a
shotgun and fatally shot a man at the main door and another inside, law
enforcement said Tuesday.
Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge said gunshots and screams could be
heard on a 911 call Monday evening from the Butte County Library's
branch in Chico — a city of about 100,000 people about 150 miles (240
kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.
“From the first 911 call to having him in custody was less than four
minutes,” Aldridge said, praising officers for stemming the loss of
life.
The suspect shot a man at the entrance of the library in the leg and
then shot him in the head before firing multiple shots inside and
shooting another man in the head, said Sid Patel, special agent in
charge in the FBI’s Sacramento office.
“Yesterday’s violent attack was horrific,” Patel said. “The full force
of the FBI is assisting this investigation.”
Details emerge on the victims and the arrest
Authorities identified the men who died as 46-year-old Jacob Hull, who
his brother said went by the name Cody, and 74-year-old Robert Johnson.
The 7-year-old daughter of Hull's girlfriend fell during the shooting
and was taken to the hospital with a minor injury, Benjamin Heneberry,
Hull's brother, told The Associated Press.
The suspect fled out the back of the library as officers entered, but
additional law enforcement personnel behind the building took the man
into custody, Aldridge said during a news conference after the arrest.
Officers recovered a shotgun from the floor of the library and two other
guns from the suspect’s car. The weapons were registered to the
suspect’s family, the police chief said, without providing any other
information.
Heneberry said his brother had just gotten to the library with his
girlfriend's daughter and was sitting on a bench just outside when he
was shot. He said his girlfriend’s daughter is physically OK, but she
saw everything.
“We’re just devastated and shocked," he said, explaining that a
fundraiser had been set up for Hull's girlfriend and her daughter.
"Nobody would imagine that this would happen to their own brother.”
Heneberry described his brother as a very smart, quiet and low-key man
who loved 1990s hip-hop. He was a father figure to his girlfriend's
daughter and was supporting them, Heneberry said.
Police surround the library
A video from the scene shows police patrol cars surrounding the
one-story brick building and officers pointing their rifles. Another
video shows a man face-down on the ground being handcuffed by a police
officer who then picks him up and hands him to another officer who walks
him away from the building.
Jeannie Lee Schroeder was on a city bus that stopped near the library
when she noticed a lot of police. As officers carrying guns marched
toward the street, the bus driver started driving away.
"I see a person in a light-colored shirt running toward the street,
toward where the bus was at,” Schroeder said. “And then there was an
officer behind him, and another officer coming at the side of him, and
that’s when they tackled him down.”
Police later determined the suspect acted alone and identified him as
Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico. Sayer had recently graduated from Chico
High School, Patel said.
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This undated booking photo provided by Butte County Sheriff's Office
on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, shows Bradley Scott Sayer. (Butte County
Sheriff's Office via AP)
He was booked into the Butte County Jail on suspicion of two counts
of murder. There was no indication he had any prior relationship
with or connection to the victims, police said.
Officials said Tuesday that Sayer's family has retained an attorney,
but didn't release the lawyer's name. A search Tuesday of Butte
County court records did not show Sayer’s name.
Suspect demonstrated an affinity for Columbine shootings
At the time of the shooting, Sayer was wearing a white T-shirt
inscribed with the words “natural selection,” mimicking a T-shirt
with the same slogan worn by Eric Harris, one of two shooters in the
1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado, Patel said.
“He had been a fan, and a fan for a long time” of the Columbine
shootings on social media, Butte County District Attorney Michael
Ramsey said.
Sayer is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, he said.
Joseph Vasquez had English classes with Sayer at Chico High School.
He said Sayer was liked and accepted by most of his peers, but he
didn’t seem to have close friends.
“He was very smart. He cared a lot about his grades,” Vasquez said.
“He was kind of talkative but very anti-social.”
Vasquez said he and his friends were very surprised about the
shooting.
Shooting leads to plans for library security
The shooting in Chico shocked the community in the foothills of the
Sierra Nevada and led authorities to say they will add security
personnel at each library location.
“A library should be a place of joy,” said Misty Wright, director of
public libraries in Butte County. “Most of all it should be a place
that feels safe. Yesterday that safety was shattered.”
Wright said that before the shooting, the libraries were visited by
“mobile patrols” and that she wasn’t sure if they are armed.
All Butte County library branches were to be closed Tuesday,
officials said.
There have been at least three fatal attacks at libraries in the
last nine years.
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.
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