Two people were killed and a child was injured in a shooting at a northern California library on Monday evening, authorities said.
A suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department.
The department said that beginning at 5.12pm dispatchers received multiple 911 calls about a shooter inside the library, which was open at the time.
“We had an open 911 line [and] you could hear gunshots and people screaming,” Billy Aldridge, the city police chief, said during a press conference on Monday.
Police officers arrived six minutes later and entered the library, the department said in a statement. The suspect fled out the back as officers made entry into the facility, but “was taken into custody without incident”.
Video captured by a bystander on a bus showed police stationed in front of the library and running toward the building carrying long guns.
Chico is a college town, located 90 miles from the state capital in Butte county, and home to about 107,000 people. Butte county previously saw active shooter incidents in 2024 when a man shot two kindergarteners at an elementary school – both children survived – and in 2022 when a man opened fire in a Greyhound bus, killing a 43-year-old woman and injuring four others.
Police identified the suspect as Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico. Police said there was no indication he had any prior relationship with the victims.
Police said in the statement that Sayer appeared intent on committing “a Columbine High School massacre type of shooting”, referring to the 1999 school shooting that killed 13 students and one teacher. Authorities did not explain how they came to that conclusion.
The Butte county library announced that all branches would be closed on Tuesday.
“We are aware of the tragic incident that occurred 6/22/2026 at the Chico Branch of the Butte County Library and extend our deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident,” the library said in a statement.
Megan Dahle, who represents Chico in California’s senate, said the incident was “stunning and heartbreaking”.
“The library is a safe and quiet place for families of all kinds, a place to enjoy storytime or pick up a book for summer reading,” Dahle said in a statement. “We don’t know the facts yet, but nothing like this should happen to families anywhere – and certainly not at this place of wholesome joy. My prayers go out to all who had to suffer this horror.”
