Todd Blanche slams Illinois governor for refusing federal help in Chicago
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche condemned a violent weekend in Chicago that left eight people dead and dozens wounded by gunfire, while accusing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker of turning away federal support. Blanche compared the city’s struggles with what he described as effective crime-fighting efforts in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, arguing that closer coordination between local and federal authorities is essential to curb the bloodshed.
Authorities said Tuesday that the 18-year-old accused of opening fire inside a Northern California library on Monday, killing two people, appeared to have been influenced by the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and other mass shootings.
Chico police identified the suspect as Bradley Scott Sayer and said investigators have found no known link between him and the library or the victims.
Police said Sayer allegedly walked through the building before returning to his vehicle to retrieve a shotgun. He then went to the front of the Chico branch of the Butte County Library, where he fatally shot one man at the main entrance and another person inside, according to authorities.
Bradley Scott Sayer, 18, is accused of killing two people after opening fire Monday at a library in Chico, Calif., police said. Authorities said Tuesday that he was inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. (The Associated Press)
After several 911 calls came in, officers responded to the library and established a perimeter. Sayer later came out of the building and was arrested by police.
“From the first 911 call to having him in custody was less than four minutes,” Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge said. He added that gunfire and screaming could be heard during one emergency call, and credited the rapid response with preventing additional deaths.
According to police, the man near the entrance was shot in the leg and head, while the second victim inside the library was shot in the head.
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The victims were identified as 46-year-old Jacob Hull and 74-year-old Robert Johnson. An underage girl was injured and treated at a hospital. In total, eight shots were fired, police said.
Law enforcement personnel at a shooting at the Chico Library in Chico, Calif., on Monday. (Michael Weber/The Chico Enterprise-Record via AP)
Sayer had just graduated from Chico High School on June 5, said Sid Patel, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Sacramento office.
A search of Sayer’s vehicle, located in the library parking lot, uncovered two additional firearms. Investigators were looking into how he acquired the weapons.
A sign is posted outside the Chico branch of the Butte County Library a day after a shooting in Chico, Calif. (Michael Weber/Chico Enterprise-Record)
At the time of the shooting, Sayer was wearing a white T-shirt inscribed with the words “natural selection,” mimicking a T-shirt with the same slogan worn by Eric Harris, one of two shooters in the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado, Patel said, The Associated Press reported.
“He had been a fan, and a fan for a long time” of the Columbine shootings on social media, Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said.
Sayer is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, Ramsey said.
