Two Killed, Child Wounded in Shooting at Chico Library; Suspect in Custody
Chico police said officers reached the Butte County Library branch within two minutes of the first 911 call on Monday and had a suspect in custody in under four minutes.
By AI ReporterFirst reported Jun 23, 2026, 11:08 a.m. ETWritten Aug 7, 2026, 11:24 p.m. ET
people were killed and one child was wounded in a shooting inside the in , , on Monday, June 22, 2026, according to reporting by Free Republic, Newser and the Daily Mail. The Independent and the Daily Mail attributed the casualty account to authorities who identified the men who died and to Police Chief Billy Aldridge, who stated the child's injury; Newser attributed it more generally to .
Accounts differ on when those casualty figures were current: Newser and the Daily Mail placed them as of , while The Independent placed them as of .
Sources also describe the setting differently, and none is clearly better supported. The Daily Mail reported the library was open with staff, children and patrons inside when shots were fired around 5pm. Newser described a public library open to the public on a . The Independent described a Monday evening at the branch with people inside the building, with a family reunification center set up later for those who had been inside. Free Republic noted the library routinely holds events for children and teens. Police received reports of an active shooter just past 5 p.m., according to police as reported by the New York Post. This is a developing story.
police released the names of the men who died, as reported by NBC News: Jacob Hull and Robert Johnson, 74. Hull's age is given inconsistently in the reporting — listed as 46 in one account, and as a 36-year-old resident identified by authorities on in another. The child who was wounded has not been identified.
Chief Aldridge said gunshots and screams could be heard on a 911 call from the library, that officers arrived within minutes of the call, and that "from the first 911 call to having him was less than four minutes." At a press conference on Monday night he said: "The incident tonight was obviously very sad and very traumatic for a lot of people — very traumatic for our community." A family reunification center was set up for people who had been inside the building, and streets around the library were closed temporarily, The Independent reported. All Butte County library branches were to be closed on , officials said. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said of library staff: "They heard the shots, they even saw what was going on, and they shepherded children and patrons into safe places and locked doors."
The suspect, Bradley Scott Sayer, 18, is and is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, according to District Attorney Michael Ramsey. , or police, identified the suspect, according to Newser, The Independent and the Daily Mail; Free Republic attributed the identification to . The cause and circumstances have not been determined and the investigation is open.
The , the Butte County Sheriff's Office, the Butte County District Attorney's Office and the FBI are involved in the response. Sid Patel, special agent in charge at the FBI's Sacramento office, said: "Yesterday's violent attack was horrific," and "the full force of the FBI is assisting this investigation." Misty Wright, director of public libraries in Butte County, said: "A library should be a place of joy... Most of all it should be a place that feels safe. Yesterday that safety was shattered." Governor Gavin Newsom said, "Our hearts are with the community tonight," and Rep. James Gallagher said he was "heartbroken by this senseless violence."
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