Suspect charged with murder, as Bridgewater community mourns slain campus officers

WMRA | By Randi B. Hagi

Published February 2, 2022 at 6:15 AM EST

Campus safety Officer J.J Jefferson, left, and campus police Officer John Painter. On Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, a gunman shot and killed the two campus officers.

A gunman shot and killed a campus police officer and a safety officer at Bridgewater College Tuesday afternoon. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.

BC President David Bushman speaks to reporters at a news conference Tuesday night. In a separate statement, he said "These officers were close friends, known to many of us as the 'dynamic duo.' 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."

Virginia State Police said that at about 1:20 p.m., Campus Police Officer John Painter and Campus Safety Officer J. J. Jefferson responded to a call about a suspicious man at Memorial Hall on campus. The man, 27-year-old Alexander Wyatt Campbell, shot and killed both officers, and fled on foot. Several 911 callers reported the gunshots, and the Harrisonburg Police Department, Rockingham County Sheriff's Office, and Virginia State Police special agents apprehended the suspect on an island in the North River.

Students at Bridgewater College are released from classes after the lockdown ended late Tuesday afternoon.

Campbell had suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound before being taken into custody. Authorities said it was still unclear whether he had been shot by the campus police officer or by himself.

Senior Andrew Meechan was in a classroom near where the officers were shot.

ANDREW MEECHAN: Right after the first shot there was another volley of four shots that went off … There were two officers that I saw that actually are deceased … I saw their bodies.

Authorities would not say if Campbell had been a student or was known to campus or local law enforcement. His last known address is in Ashland, Virginia, and authorities were unsure how he got to campus.

The scene of the shooting near Flory and Memorial Halls was roped off by police.

Campbell is being held without bond at Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail. He has been charged with four felonies, including two counts of felony capital murder. Bridgewater College officials say grief counseling and other forms of support will be provided to students and staff. Classes at the private college, with about 15-hundred students, are canceled today.