In March 2024, TikToker Aurelia (@butterandearth), her husband, and their two daughters moved from France to the United States. They lived in both California and Hawaii. They moved back to Chico, California, in October 2025.
Aurelia’s husband and two daughters recently survived a mass shooting at a library in Chico just a few weeks ago on June 22. The shooter first came in to do a walk-through of the building. It was nearly closing time, but there were still around 20 people in the library.
Then, the shooter walked back outside to his vehicle, grabbed a weapon that he had stolen, and reentered the library. He shot the first victim at the entrance, which alerted everyone else to the danger at hand.
Aurelia’s eight-year-old daughter was sitting at the entrance of the children’s section when she saw a dad looking very panicked. The dad ran off with his child in his arms.
She sensed that something was wrong, so she hid behind a bookshelf. She called her 11-year-old sister over so they could hide together.
Meanwhile, Aurelia’s husband was in the adult section, looking for a book. He saw three teenagers run out of the library in a panic. That was when he realized something was wrong.
“He is French,” explained Aurelia. “He doesn’t have our culture of these events. So, he starts walking to the children’s section, and he calls out our daughters’ names.”
“When he does so, he comes face to face with the shooter, who had just entered the children’s section. The shooter did not hesitate to bring his shotgun up and fire at my husband.”
Aurelia’s husband managed to duck and run out the back door in a zigzag pattern. Aurelia’s 11-year-old daughter was about to respond to their dad when her younger sister covered her mouth to stop her from making any sound.
They heard the gunman shoot at their dad, so they thought he was dead.
Aurelia’s husband ran around the library, trying to figure out how to reach his daughters. He yelled for the shooter to come outside in order to lure him away from the children’s section. The shooter went after her husband at the back of the library.
Her husband made it to the front of the library and signaled for their daughters to come out. Luckily, they escaped the situation without getting hurt. Now, the girls are understandably traumatized by the shooting.
“Anybody who knows my girls knows just how independent and wonderful and amazing they are,” said Aurelia. “Right now, they’re having to sleep in our bedroom because they’re scared.”
“If my husband takes a little too long out, they’re worried as to what if something happened to him. They hear a loud noise, and they’re startled, they’re scared, they’re on the lookout.”
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By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
