Man fatally shot 2 campus officers at Bridgewater College in Virginia

 

Alexander Wyatt Campbell

 

White man fatally shot  2 campus officers  at Bridgewater College in Virginia

By Edward Era Batbacena

Two campus officers were shot and killed at Bridgewater College in Virginia on Tuesday, a stunning act of violence at a school that was ranked last year as the safest in the state.

The officers, identified as a "dynamic duo" known across the campus of the small liberal arts college, were fatally shot during what Virginia State Police called a "brief interaction" with the suspect.

"This is a sad and dark day for Bridgewater College," David Bushman, the school's president, wrote in a statement to the campus community.

Campus officers at Bridgewater responded to a call of a suspicious male individual around 1:20 p.m., authorities said at a press conference Tuesday evening. The suspect fled campus on foot after shooting both officers and was captured by police by 2 p.m.

Police identified the suspect as Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27. He has been charged with two felony counts of capital murder, one felony count of first-degree murder, and one felony count of use of a firearm in the commission of a crime, authorities said. 

Police said they recovered multiple firearms associated with Campbell on- and off-campus.

Authorities declined to comment on the suspect's relationship with Bridgewater College, but said he was initially flagged as suspicious because he "was in a location where he shouldn't have been" on campus. His last known address was in Ashland, Virginia, about a two-hour drive from the school, police said.

Campbell is being held without bond at Rockingham County Jail. He suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, but police are unsure if an officer shot him or if it was self-inflicted.