Two Dead in Chico Library Shooting; 18-Year-Old Arrested

A routine Monday evening at the Butte County Library’s Chico branch turned into a nightmare when gunshots erupted just after 5 p.m., leaving two people dead and a community reeling. Police responded to 911 calls reporting shots fired and screams coming from inside the building, and when Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge arrived on scene, officers moved quickly—the suspect fled out the back as law enforcement entered, only to be taken into custody by additional personnel waiting behind the building.

The suspect, identified as Bradley Scott Sayer, an 18-year-old from Chico, was booked into the Butte County Jail on suspicion of two counts of murder. What made this act even more senseless: police found no prior relationship or connection between Sayer and his victims. The names of those killed have not yet been released. A child was also hospitalized with minor injuries, and the streets surrounding the library were closed as officials set up a family reunification center for those trapped inside during the violence.

Chico, a city of about 100,000 people roughly 150 miles northeast of San Francisco, is now grappling with what Chief Aldridge called a tragedy that was“very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community.”All Butte County library branches remained closed Tuesday as investigators from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and FBI worked to piece together what led to the shooting.

This isn’t an isolated incident. Libraries across America have become unexpected sites of violence in recent years. In 2023, a man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison after fatally shooting two people—one in a library and another in a convenience store. A teenager in Clovis, New Mexico, also received a life sentence for killing two library employees in 2017. These aren’t anomalies; they’re part of a troubling pattern that’s left communities questioning how safe even public institutions really are.

The Butte County community’s grief is understandable. Libraries are supposed to be sanctuaries—quiet places for learning, research, and connection. That sense of safety was shattered in moments, and it will take far longer than a single day for healing to begin.