Chicoans flock to fundraiser for library shooting victims

Jacob “Cody” Hull will be remembered for many things – including his willingness to be a father to the 7-year-old girl he had taken with him to the Chico library the day a shooting took his life.

Robert Johnson will also be remembered for many things, including his love of the library and its books.

The two men are being honored this weekend as Chico-area residents flock to support fundraisers for the families. By 11:30 a.m. today, a line of some 35 people wound around Nobby’s on Park Avenue as customers chatted quietly and waited patiently for a turn to order one of Chico’s most popular hamburgers – the Nobby Burger.

Some people just dropped off cash donations that a Nobby’s employee put in a special envelope.

Philip and Jessica Brun, owners of Nobby’s and The Cheese Steak Shop, said in a Facebook post that 100 percent of their profits this weekend will support the families of the victims of the library shooting. Around 2 p.m. today, Nobby’s Facebook page said the restaurant had “officially sold out” for the day and the fundraiser ended “earlier than expected” because of the crowd.

ChicoSol’s portraits of both men follow based on the information we have been able to find and report on.

Cody Hull

Philip Brun is the uncle of the 7-year-old girl who was with Hull when Hull was fatally shot. Brun’s niece suffered minor injuries and was released from Enloe Medical Center following the June 22 shooting.

Hull was co-parenting the girl. They picked up books and were walking out in the early evening when suspect Bradley Scott Sayer shot Hull in the leg and then at “close range in the head,” said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

Hull, 46, died at Enloe.

Brun said that his sister had dated Hull and Hull had continued to be a father figure to Brun’s niece. “He would often do things with her, like take her to events or something, make sure that she was taken care of, helped financially,” Brun said. 

Brun said Hull played an important role in his sister’s life as well as his niece’s.

“He was a very stabilizing force in my sister’s life,” Brun said. “So it’s hard for her not having that anymore.”

Brun describes Hull as “charismatic.”

“He was very intelligent,” Brun told ChicoSol. “You could tell by speaking to him that he was a man who had a lot of experience in life and was very capable. He was very even-keeled and mellow-mannered.

“I mean, to take on responsibility like helping your friend take care of her daughter – and it’s not your kid – that’s a pretty big responsibility to take on.”

A GoFundMe for the girl and her mother, Kaygan Britt, features a letter from a family friend who calls Hull the girl’s “soon to be adopted father.”

Hull worked as a maintenance supervisor at a local hotel, said Austen Connella, who considered Hull one of his best friends. 

Connella met Hull while they were attending Atascadero High School in San Luis Obispo County.  “He was like a music mentor to me,” Connella said. “He was very fascinated with all types of music – reggae, 90s hip hop – and so we formed our bond over music, initially, when we first met.” 

Hull was an avid reader who tried to pass his love of reading on to the girl he was co-parenting. “I know that part of their life was getting books from the library,” Connella said.

“He almost had a photographic memory as well,” Connella continued. “I referred to him as an encyclopedia of knowledge, because there was really nothing you couldn’t talk to Cody about.” 

“Cody was a very quiet guy, but once you got to know him, he was very talkative and funny,” Connella said. “He never talked badly about anybody. He was always positive.

“He was the closest thing to a brother I have in this world,” Connella said. “There’s been times where he’s given me the shirt off his back, and I’ve given him the shirt off mine, and he’s the type of guy that would take a bullet for you.”

Connella said Hull’s friends and family are planning two memorial services —one in Chico and another on the Central Coast.

John Miles also spent time with Hull. Miles said that Hull liked traveling, went to South America several times and had a “sophisticated” palate.  

“To buy these special coffee beans he liked, he had to go to a specific shop in San Francisco,” Miles said. “If he made dinner, it would be something that required a lot of forethought, having to get special ingredients and things.”

The funds received by the family will help with funeral expenses, immediate needs and provide support during the difficult days ahead, Brun said.

Robert Johnson

Johnson, 74, was reading inside the library building when the gunman fatally shot him.

Although his family could not be reached for comment, Pastor Robert Morton has been in contact with family members and provided the following information based on their statement.

Johnson was born and raised in Pasadena and earned a degree in landscape architecture from Cal Poly. His special interests were mandarin oranges and tree nuts, and he eventually moved to Orland. He retired from “management-level employment in the farming community several years ago,” according to the written statement.

“In his retirement years, the Chico library was Robert’s happy place” because of his lifelong love of books, the statement says. “If he were still with us, Robert would want the library to continue to serve the local community in a positive manner.”

Johnson “always embraced his family,” the statement says. He leaves a sister, two nieces and their families and a nephew. “He will live in our hearts forever simply as Uncle Robert.”

According to comments Johnson’s sister has made on Facebook, the proceeds from fundraisers will be used for a library memorial of some type.

At Nobby’s

David and Sharon Graybiel were among the hundreds of people who waited in line today to order at Nobby’s and support the fundraiser. As longtime Chico residents — Graybiel’s family settled in Chico around 1901 — they’ve seen the town grow rapidly and found the response heart-warming.

“This is community,” said Sharon Graybiel. “I think what this is showing is, we still have a community that cares about each other.”

The Graybiels also noted that they know some members of the suspect’s family, and said the Sayers “are very nice people.”

“We should have more compassion for the family,” said Sharon Graybiel, adding that the 18-year-old suspect’s parents are likely “hurting just as much.”

This story was based on reporting by Yucheng Tang, Leslie Layton and Chris Hutton.