2 killed, child injured in shooting at California library

Two people were killed and a child was injured when a suspect who wanted to commit a "Columbine High School massacre type of shooting" opened fire inside a Northern California library the evening of June 22, police said.

The shooting unfolded shortly after 5 p.m. local time in the Butte County Library branch in Chico, California, a city of about 105,000 people in Northern California, about 90 miles from Sacramento. According to Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge, police received calls about an active shooting inside the library at about 5:12 p.m. On one of the 911 calls, gunshots and people screaming could be heard, he said.

Officers responded and set up a perimeter outside the library after arriving at about 5:18 p.m., Aldridge told reporters. As they made entry inside the library, the suspect fled out the back of the building, where officers took him into custody, Aldridge said.

"The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people, very traumatic for our community," Aldridge said on June 22.

The two people killed were adults, and the child victim had minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, he said. The victims' identities were being withheld until notification of family members could be completed, he said.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Chico Police Department for updates. The FBI in Sacramento said in a statement it was helping with the investigation.

The library was open to the public at the time of the shooting, he said. According to its website, the Chico branch of the library is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays.

The library said in a statement on its website that all Butte County Library branches will be closed on June 23, and extended condolences to victims, loved ones, library staff and others impacted.

"Our hearts are with the Chico community tonight. We are grateful to law enforcement for their swift actions to secure the scene and take the suspect into custody. No family should have to endure a tragedy like this," California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said in a statement.

Suspect wanted to commit 'massacre' shooting, police say

The shooting suspect was identified on June 23 as 18-year-old Bradley Scott Sayer, a resident of Chico, the police department said.

Sayer was working alone, investigators have determined. Aldridge said Sayer is believed to have used a single firearm in the shooting. Sayer had no known connection to any of the victims he shot inside the library, police said in an update on June 23.

"Sayer’s motivation appears to be founded in a desire to commit a Columbine High School massacre type of shooting," the Chico Police Department said.

The Columbine massacre on April 20, 1999, was one of the most infamous mass shootings in U.S. history. Twelve students and one teacher were killed at the Colorado school; another former student died in 2025 from complications related to injuries sustained that day. Many others were injured.

Sayer was taken to the Butte County Jail for two open counts of murder, the police department said. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.