A shooter kills 2 at a Northern California library and an 18-year-old suspect has been arrested

This image made from video provided by KRCR-TV shows Butte County Library, Chico branch, in Chico, Calif., Monday, June 22, 2026. (KRCR-TV via AP)

CHICO, Calif. -- A shooting at a library in Northern California left two people dead and an 18-year-old suspect has been arrested, police said Tuesday.

Police responded to a 911 call soon after 5 p.m. Monday. Chico police Chief Billy Aldridge said gunshots and screams could be heard on that call from the Chico branch of the Butte County Library. Chico, a city of about 100,000 people, is 240 kilometres northeast of San Francisco.

The suspect fled out the back of the library as officers entered, but additional law enforcement personnel behind the building took the suspect into custody, Aldridge said during a news conference.

“The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community,” Aldridge said.

The streets around the library were closed temporarily and a family reunification center was set up for the people who were inside the building.

A child was also taken to the hospital with a minor injury.

Police later determined the suspect acted alone and identified him as Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico. He was booked into the Butte County Jail on suspicion of two counts of murder. There was no indication he had any prior relationship with or connection to the victims, police said in a statement. Authorities have not released their names.

A police department dispatcher early Tuesday did not know if Sayer has a lawyer and no one could be immediately reached at the jail. A search of Butte County court records did not show his name and a phone number could not be found for him.

Police said the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.

All Butte County library branches will be closed Tuesday, officials said.

In a Facebook post, the county offered “deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident.”

It wasn’t the first act of violence at a U.S. library.

A man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting a man in a library and another man in a convenience store in 2023. In 2020, a suspect was sent to a mental health facility after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a library security guard in Spring Valley, New York. A teenager who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting two public library employees in Clovis, New Mexico, in 2017 was also sentenced to life in prison.