Columbiner Kills Two in California Library Shooting

The shooting at the Butte County Library in Chico, California, has been described by investigators as a fast-moving attack that unfolded just after 5 p.m. this past Monday and ended with two people dead and a child injured. Police say the suspect, 18-year-old Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico, walked into the library, spent a brief amount of time inside, then returned to his vehicle before coming back armed with a shotgun.

By the time it was over, two victims were dead. The victims were identified as 74-year-old Robert Johnson of Orland and 46-year-old Jacob Hull of Chico. A juvenile girl who had been with Hull was also injured, reportedly by broken glass, and later released from the hospital. Sayer had no known connection to any of the victims, and there was no indication he specifically knew them beforehand.

Police have said Sayer appeared to be influenced by Columbine, and not in a vague or passing way.

Sayer is said to have worn a white t-shirt during the shooting that was marked with the words “natural selection.” That is a direct reference to Eric Harris, one of the Columbine cowards, who infamously wore a similar shirt during that shooting. That reference, combined with other reported online activity, has led investigators to describe the case as a copycat-style attack rooted in Columbine fascination.

The term “Columbiner” is used to describe individuals who become fixated on the Columbine shooting, its perpetrators, and the broader mythology that has developed around it. In some corners of the internet, that fixation has been tied to communities that circulate footage, manifestos, and discussion threads about mass shooters. Over time, those spaces have shifted and blurred into what is often described more broadly as parts of the so-called True Crime Community ecosystem, where violent incidents are consumed, analyzed, and romanticized in ways that are deeply unhealthy.

Investigators have said Sayer was active in online spaces connected to Columbine-related content and school shooting discussions. Officials have described that involvement as a “deep dive” into communities centered around mass violence, though the exact scope of his online activity is still being reviewed.

The sequence inside the library also points to a degree of planning. According to FBI and police accounts, Sayer allegedly entered the building first without a weapon, walked through the space, then went back outside to retrieve a shotgun from his car before returning. Investigators say he fired approximately eight rounds inside the library. One victim was shot near the entrance, and the other was shot deeper inside the building.

The shotgun used in the attack was found at the scene, and two more guns were located in Sayer’s vehicle in the parking lot. Reports indicate the shotgun is registered to ‘the family name.’ California law allows the purchase of certain long guns, including shotguns, at 18 years old.

Sayer’s father, David Sayer, has said publicly that he saw zero warning signs before the shooting. He described his son as quiet, shy, and someone who spent much of his time reading and keeping to himself. He also said Sayer was high-functioning on the autism spectrum and had recently graduated from Chico High School with honors just weeks before the attack. The family had reportedly even been planning a post-graduation trip, and the father said their last conversation on the day of the shooting was normal.

Autism spectrum conditions can involve what clinicians and researchers often describe as hyper-fixations, where a person develops an intense focus on a specific subject. In most cases, that focus is harmless and can look like a deep passion for hobbies, school subjects, or interests that dominate conversation and time.

Only in extremely rare and unpredictable cases does a fixation intersect with violent ideation, and there is no evidence to suggest that being on the spectrum is connected to violent behavior in general. This idea has occasionally been misused in public discourse. In the early 2000s many defense attorney’s tried using spectrum disorders as defenses in several school violence trials. None of them ever resulted in an acquittal.

What I’m getting at is that just because someone is on the spectrum does not automatically make them a violent killer. Conversely, it doesn’t excuse them for their actions either.

(Sources)