Todd Blanche slams Illinois governor for refusing federal help in Chicago
In response to a particularly violent weekend in Chicago, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has brought attention to the grim statistics: eight lives lost and numerous others wounded. He directed criticism towards Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing him of declining federal support aimed at tackling the city’s crime crisis. Highlighting the success stories of Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Blanche underscored the urgent necessity for collaboration between local and national authorities to curb the violence.
In Northern California, officials reported Tuesday that a gunman responsible for a deadly attack inside a library was motivated by infamous past mass shootings, including the 1999 tragedy at Columbine High School. The shooter killed two people in a shocking act of violence that took place on Monday.
The Chico Police Department identified the suspect as 18-year-old Bradley Scott Sayer. It was noted that he had no known links to either the library or the individuals who fell victim to the attack.
Authorities revealed that, prior to the assault, Sayer allegedly surveyed the library before returning to his vehicle to retrieve a shotgun. He then proceeded to the front entrance of the Butte County Library’s Chico branch, where he fatally shot a man at the door before taking the life of another person inside the building.
The tragic events unfolded on Monday when Sayer, now facing charges for the murder of two individuals, took action allegedly inspired by the notorious Columbine shooting, according to police reports. (The Associated Press)
Following multiple 911 calls, officers arrived at the scene and set up a perimeter. Sayer then exited the building and was taken into police custody.
“From the first 911 call to having him in custody was less than four minutes,” said Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge, who noted that gunshots and screams could be heard on one 911 call and that the fast police response prevented the taking of more lives.
The man at the entrance was shot in the leg and head, and another man inside the building was shot in the head, police said.
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.