Campus Alert Archive
BC

Two Campus Officers Killed Responding to Suspicious Person Report at Small Virginia College

VAshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On February 1, 2022, two campus safety officers were shot and killed at Bridgewater College while responding to a report of a suspicious individual near Memorial Hall. The suspect, former student Alexander Wyatt Campbell, fled on foot before being apprehended in a nearby river about 35 minutes later.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
2
Injured
0
Institution
Bridgewater College
Private Liberal Arts · VA
~1,500 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 3 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatimBridgewater College official Twitter (@BridgewaterNews)54 chars
Reports of active shooter on campus. Shelter in place.
Posted at approximately 1:24 PM EST on February 1, 2022, roughly 4 minutes after the shooting began at 1:20 PM EST
The 54-character message reflects Twitter-first emergency communication; SMS/email versions followed
Memorial Hall, where the shooting occurred, was not named in this initial brief alert
UPDATETwitter/X
Verified verbatimBridgewater College Twitter update quoted verbatim by WDBJ7 and Yahoo/USA Today coverage98 chars
An individual is in police custody. Situation is still ongoing. Continue to shelter where you are.
Verbatim from the college's Twitter update around 2:00 PM EST confirming a person in custody while keeping shelter-in-place in force
Campbell was taken into custody at approximately 1:55 PM EST after being found in the North River near campus
Note the message keeps the shelter-in-place active ('Continue to shelter where you are') -- this is an update, not an all-clear
Context

Background

On the afternoon of February 1, 2022, Campus Police Officer John Painter and Campus Safety Officer J.J. Jefferson responded to a call about a suspicious individual near Memorial Hall on the Bridgewater College campus. After a brief interaction, the man opened fire, fatally shooting both officers. The suspect, 27-year-old Alexander Wyatt Campbell, was a former student who had attended the college from 2013 to 2017. He fled on foot and was apprehended approximately 35 minutes later after wading into the North River near campus, where he was found with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. The college, a small Church of the Brethren-affiliated liberal arts institution in the Shenandoah Valley, was deeply shaken by the tragedy. Painter and Jefferson were described as close friends who often worked together. Campbell pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus six additional years for use of a firearm.
Analysis

Key Findings

Both officers were killed while responding to a routine call about a suspicious person, underscoring the unpredictable dangers campus safety personnel face
The suspect was a former student who had attended the college years earlier, raising questions about threat assessment for former affiliates
The small campus size meant the entire community of approximately 1,500 students was impacted
Outcome
Campus Police Officer John Painter and Campus Safety Officer J.J. Jefferson were killed. The suspect, Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, was arrested after wading into a river near campus. He later pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus six years.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Two campus officers killed at Bridgewater College in Va. (Washington Post)
    washingtonpost.com
  2. News
    2 officers killed at Bridgewater College in Virginia (NPR)
    npr.org
  3. News
    Bridgewater College shooting suspect was a former student (NPR)
    npr.org
  4. News
    Two officers shot and killed at Bridgewater College (WHSV-TV)
    whsv.com
  5. News
    Two Bridgewater College officers shot dead Tuesday, suspect charged (WDBJ7)
    wdbj7.com
  6. Student Paper
    Bridgewater College shooter pleads guilty (Breeze JMU)
    breezejmu.org
Tags
shootingofficer-killedformer-studentvirginiaprivate-liberal-artsline-of-duty-death
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion