{"id":4529,"date":"2026-06-23T15:19:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T15:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/23\/two-people-killed-and-child-injured-in-northern-california-library-shooting\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T15:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T15:19:51","slug":"two-people-killed-and-child-injured-in-northern-california-library-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=4529","title":{"rendered":"Two people killed and child injured in northern California library shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"274cd786-d7cf-4591-81f7-eb63c4c870e3\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"yellow crime scene tape in front of a library\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e8b32d425441b08af5a28664e24622d25cfa609d\/15_0_1198_958\/master\/1198.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.84474123539235\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">The Butte county library\u2019s Chico branch on 22 June. <\/span> Photograph: KRCR-TV\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"274cd786-d7cf-4591-81f7-eb63c4c870e3\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">The Butte county library\u2019s Chico branch on 22 June. <\/span> Photograph: KRCR-TV\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Two people killed and child injured in northern California library shooting<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Suspect in incident at Chico branch of Butte county library arrested, police say, but no known motive<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Two people were killed and a child was injured in a shooting at a northern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/california\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">California<\/a> library on Monday evening, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe had an open 911 line [and] you could hear gunshots and people screaming,\u201d Billy Aldridge, the city police chief, said during a press conference on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">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 \u201cwas taken into custody without incident\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Video captured by a bystander on a bus showed police stationed in front of the library and running toward the building carrying long guns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/dec\/05\/california-oroville-school-shooting\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">2024<\/a> when a man shot two kindergartners at an elementary school \u2013 both children survived \u2013 and in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2022\/feb\/03\/greyhound-bus-shooting-oroville-woman-killed\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">2022<\/a> when a man opened fire in a Greyhound bus, killing a 43-year-old woman and injuring four others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Police identified the suspect as Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico. Police said there was no indication he had any prior relationship with the victims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Detectives were receiving support from local, state and federal agencies, and the FBI had offered to assist in the investigation, Aldridge said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Butte county library announced that all branches would be closed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe 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,\u201d the library said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Megan Dahle, who represents Chico in California\u2019s senate, said the incident was \u201cstunning and heartbreaking\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThe 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,\u201d Dahle said in a statement. \u201cWe don\u2019t know the facts yet, but nothing like this should happen to families anywhere \u2013 and certainly not at this place of wholesome joy. My prayers go out to all who had to suffer this horror.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/california\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">California<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/series\/guns-and-lies\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Guns and lies<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/west-coast\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">West Coast<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Two%20people%20killed%20and%20child%20injured%20in%20northern%20California%20library%20shooting&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/23\/chico-library-shooting-northern-california?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjun%2F23%2Fchico-library-shooting-northern-california&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jun\/23\/chico-library-shooting-northern-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1pjhtuq\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Butte county library\u2019s Chico branch on 22 June. Photograph: KRCR-TV\/AP View image in fullscreen The Butte county<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}