The grief-stricken brother of a 46-year-old man who was shot and killed allegedly by a teenage gunman at a California library has spoken out.
Choking back tears, Benjamin Heneberry said his brother Jacob Hull was taking his ex-girlfriend’s daughter to the Chico store while he babysat her.
But, Heneberry said, Hull was “at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Bradley Scott Sayer , 18, allegedly busted into the library and started shooting, he said. Heneberry said his brother was the first to be killed near the entrance.
Sayer then allegedly shot an old man sitting at a desk, before wounding a child, who has been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The elderly victim, a man aged 74, nor the child have been identified. Hull’s ex-girlfriend’s child escaped the horrifying encounter unscathed.
There could have been more victims if it weren’t for the help of heroic library staff, officials said. Butte County District Attorney told the county’s board of supervisors that the staff saved lives.
“They heard the shots, they even saw what was going on, and they shepherded children and patrons into safe places and locked doors,” Ramsey said.
Sayer allegedly ran out of the back of the library, where police nabbed him. He is being held in custody on two counts of murder. He is a former Chico High School student who graduated earlier this month.
Heneberry said he loved his brother, whom he described as “really smart” and who “read lots of books.”
“He was my brother, I loved him,” he said in a hushed tone, noting he hadn’t slept for 24 hours. “I alternate between crying and being numb.”
He doesn’t understand why the shooter targeted his brother. Heneberry believes it was a “random shooting,” and that the alleged perpetrator didn’t know him.
He said he does not hold many feelings toward Sayer, simply adding: “I didn’t feel anything when I looked at him. This kid ruined his own life for nothing. Such a waste.”
