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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man was arrested Wednesday in the deadly shooting of a Natomas librarian months after he was thrown out and banned from the library, police officials said.
Sacramento police arrested 56-year-old Ronald Seay less than 12 hours after the fatal shooting of Library Supervisor Amber Clark.
Police say Seay was taken into custody in the Elverta area of Natomas following a short pursuit around 5:30 a.m. on December 12. Seay lived only a few miles from the library, but had only been in the state a few months, police said.
According to police, Seay caused a disturbance at the library on October 13. Police issued Seay a “no trespass” order because of that incident. Clark, 41, was working the day of that disturbance, police said.
"Every person that walked into the North Natomas Library was greeted by Amber," said City Councilmember Angelique Ashby. "This is an extreme tragedy for our community."
Investigators believe this incident was not a random act and that Clark was specifically targeted.
Police are still interviewing witnesses but they do not believe there is any additional threat to the community. If you have any information regarding this crime, to call police at 916-808-5471.
Sacramento Public Libraries Executive CEO Rivkah Sass also spoke at the press conference, saying:
"Amber worked at the library for three and a half years and in that time she emerged as this incredible leader for changing how we serve various parts of our community. Her library family is stunned that this absolutely senseless act occurred, and we are so grateful to the Sacramento Police Department and their work to bringing justice to Amber. The library is a wonderful little dysfunctional family, like all families, and we're all grieving."
Sass said Clark's death is a shock and senseless.
"We have to do something as a society. We really do," Sass said. "We have to address these issues so that we don't have these acts, these assaults."
Sass says libraries are considered safe places but what happened to Clark reminds her of another senseless attack on librarians in 1993. Police shot and killed a gunman at the Sacramento's main Library after the gunman shot and killed two librarians at random.
"He's a totally sick person who had access to a gun which is a tragedy," Sass said about Seay, the man arrested for Clark's death. "And now we are all bearing the result of that tragedy by having to grieve our colleague and friend and someone we highly valued as our workplace."
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