Two people killed and child injured in northern California library shooting
Suspect in incident at Chico branch of Butte county library arrested, police say, but no known motive
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 kindergartners 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.
Detectives were receiving support from local, state and federal agencies, and the FBI had offered to assist in the investigation, Aldridge said.
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.”
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The detail about suspect in incident at Chico branch of Butte county library arrested, police say, but no known is something people should sit with.
Bradley Scott has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
In other words a suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department. Curious to see how this develops.
Chico Branch is in a tough spot here, curious how they navigate it.
The fact that a suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department really puts things into perspective.
Reading that 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 — hard to argue with the logic there.
The detail about a suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department is something people should sit with.
If “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, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
Two people were killed and a child was injured in a shooting at a northern California library on Monday evening, authorities said. Meanwhile a suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department.
So the bottom line is suspect in incident at Chico branch of Butte county library arrested, police say, but no known. Wonder how this will land.
The fact that two people were killed and a child was injured in a shooting at a northern California library on Monday evening, authorities said really puts things into perspective.
When you look at 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, the implications are hard to ignore.
So the bottom line is a suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department. Wonder how this will land.
In other words 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. Curious to see how this develops.
The bigger issue here is two people were killed and a child was injured in a shooting at a northern California library on Monday evening, authorities said. That changes the calculation.