Left inset: Brad Sayer (Chico Police Department). Right inset: Jacob Hull (Facebook). Background: The library in Chico, Calif., where Brad Sayer allegedly killed Jacob Hull with a shotgun while he was shielding an 8-year-old girl during Sayer's deadly shooting rampage (KRCR/YouTube).
A California teen walked into a library with a shotgun and a T-shirt bearing the words "Natural Selection" — an ode to the Columbine High School shooting — and started blasting people, killing two, including a man who shielded an 8-year-old girl, cops say.
Bradley Sayer, 18, walked through the Butte County Library in Chico on Monday evening without a weapon before going out to his vehicle, retrieving a shotgun from the trunk, and going back inside, according to FBI officials and local police.
Friends and family told The Sacramento Bee that one of Sayer's victims was Jacob "Cody" Hull, a 46-year-old from Chico who died protecting his friend's daughter.
"Sayer had no known connection to the library or any of the victims," the Chico Police Department said in a press release Tuesday. "Based on information revealed during their interviews with the suspect, detectives believe he was influenced by Columbine High School shooting-type mass casualty events."
The shirt Sayer was wearing was similar to a shirt worn by Columbine shooter Eric Harris, which also had the words "Natural Selection" written on it, according to officials.
"Sayer fired approximately 8 total rounds from a shotgun during the course of the incident," the CPD release says. "One victim was struck directly outside of the library entrance, and the others inside the building."
Hull has since been hailed as a hero.
"I think a lot of people would like to think that they are capable of doing that, but that takes a lot," said Philip Brun, uncle of the girl Hull shielded. "I'm not sure we all have that."
Hull and the girl's mother had known each other for nearly 15 years, according to Brun, and he was alone with her at the library when Sayer walked in and opened fire.
"I think that the mental side of it probably hasn't hit her yet," Brun told the Bee. "That's a lot to process."
Sayer's father, David Sayer, told the San Francisco Chronicle that his son was a "shy little boy" who was "high-functioning" on the autism spectrum. He had just graduated from high school with honors on June 5.
"Brad has always been a delicate little flower," David Sayer claimed. "He's never harmed anybody. I can't say that anymore."
Brad Sayer was "never angry," according to his father. The two of them recently booked a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate his graduation. David Sayer said he spoke to him just two hours before the shooting and nothing stood out.
"I just feel horrible for the people that he shot," David Sayer said. "It's hard to think right now."
Police say they received multiple 911 calls reporting gunshots and "screaming heard from within the Butte County Library" a little after 5 p.m., according to the CPD release. As officers arrived and approached the front doors, Brad Sayer allegedly exited from the east side of the building, where a perimeter had already been established, and was taken into custody without incident.
Hull was transported to the hospital and later succumbed to his injuries. A 74-year-old patron, Robert Johnson, was pronounced dead at the scene. A female juvenile was shot and transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"She was treated and reunited with family," the CPD release says.
A search of Brad Sayer's vehicle, which was located in the library parking lot, reportedly uncovered two additional guns. "The source of the firearms in Sayer's possession is still being determined," the CPD release says.
FBI Special Agent Sid Patel told reporters that Brad Sayer "was a fan and a fan for some time of social media involving Columbine-type shootings" and "unfortunately made a deep dive into that social media community," according to the Chronicle.
"This 'natural selection,' we believe, is a reference to Eric Harris," Patel said. "[Brad Sayer] obviously lost his way in that and decided yesterday to act in copycat."
Brad Sayer is facing charges of first-degree murder and is expected to be charged with attempted murder, the Chronicle reports. He was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Butte County.
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