Bridgewater College shooting suspect attended the school from 2013-2017
Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, was charged with two counts of capital murder and other felonies
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alexander Wyatt Campbell, the suspect accused of shooting and killing two officers Tuesday on the campus of Bridgewater College, attended the school from 2013 to 2017 and was on the track and field team, according to a spokesperson for the school.
Campbell, 27, was arrested about half an hour after the shooting and faces four felony charges, including two counts of capital murder.
A spokesperson for Bridgewater College said the school could not provide other records for Campbell under the Family Educational and Rights Privacy Act. It's unclear if he graduated.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, is facing two counts of capital murder and other charges after allegedly shooting and killing a police officer and campus safety officer on Bridgewater College's campus Tuesday. (Rockingham County Jail)
Campbell's only previous run-ins with law enforcement came in the summer of 2017, when he was charged with shoplifting and trespassing in relation to an incident on June 9, 2017, in Rockingham County, according to Virginia court records. He was also charged with failure to appear in court in 2018.
He was sentenced to a year of supervised probation in the shoplifting and trespassing case.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The officers – campus police officer John Painter and safety officer J.J. Jefferson – responded to a report of a "suspicious person" around 1:20 p.m. near Memorial Hall, according to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
After a brief interaction, Campbell allegedly opened fire on the officers, striking and killing both of them.
Police approach a suspect on the south bank of the North River in Bridgewater, Va. following a shooting at Bridgewater College Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (Daniel Lin/Daily News-Record Via AP)
Campbell fled the scene but was apprehended about 30 minutes later on an island after wading through the North River. Photos show about ten law enforcement officers rushing in to arrest Campbell, who was shirtless and lying face down on the ground.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was transported to a local hospital for treatment before being booked into the Rockingham County Jail, where he is being held without bond. It's unclear if the gunshot wound was self-inflicted or came from a gunfight with police.
Campbell's last known address was Ashland, Virginia, about 100 miles southeast of Bridgewater College.
Both officers succumbed to their injuries, according to Bridgewater College President David Bushman.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"These officers were close friends, known to many of us as the 'dynamic duo,'" Bushman wrote in a letter to the college community.
"John was J.J.’s best man in his wedding this year. They were beloved by students, faculty and staff. I hurt for their families and loved ones, as I know we all do."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Painter was issued a firearm as a police officer, but Jefferson did not carry a firearm since he was a campus safety officer, according to the Virginia State Police.
Multiple guns were discovered by law enforcement as they retraced Campbell's steps following the arrest.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bridgewater College is home to about 1,500 students in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
"Words are not adequate, not nearly so, to express the grief, sadness, fear and — justifiably — the anger we all feel," Bushman, the college president, said Tuesday.