Authorities said Tuesday that the suspected NorCal library shooter had written “Natural Selection” in black marker across a white T-shirt, an apparent attempt to echo the imagery associated with the Columbine High School massacre.
Bradley Scott Sayer, 18, is accused of opening fire at a Butte County Library, killing two people while wearing the shirt, which investigators said reflected his fixation on Columbine and similar attacks.
Eric Harris, one of the Columbine shooters, wore a similar shirt during the 1999 attack at his Colorado high school. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said Sayer had long shown an interest in that massacre and other mass shootings.
“The suspect was a fan, and a fan for some time, of social media involving Columbine-type shootings, the school shootings, and had unfortunately a deep dive into that social media community, and obviously lost his way in that and decided yesterday to act in copycat,” Ramsey said.
Officials said Sayer initially entered the library and walked through the building before returning to his vehicle to get a shotgun.
“He was looking for a confined, populated location to attack,” FBI agent Sid Patel said during a news conference Tuesday.
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According to officials, Sayer first shot 46-year-old Jacob Hull in the leg as Hull was entering the library. After Hull was disabled by the gunfire, Sayer allegedly shot him in the head, killing him.
A juvenile female who was with Hull was also injured. Sayer then went inside the library and allegedly shot 74-year-old Robert Johnson in the head, killing him as well.
Library staff heroically rushed the patrons of the building to safety, officials said, and Sayer allegedly fled the scene. Arriving law enforcement seized Sayer outside the building without any use of force, officials said.
The entire incident only lasted around four minutes from the first 911 calls to Sayer’s arrest, Chico Chief of police Billy Aldridge said. Eight rounds were fired, and the shotgun used was recovered at the scene.
Two other firearms were found in the suspect’s vehicle.
According to officials, Sayer alternated between living with his father and mother. Police believed he was inspired by the Columbine shooting because of the shirt he wore and interviews later conducted.
Sayer will appear in Butte County Superior Court on Thursday at 3 p.m. He’s expected to be charged with two counts of murder.
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