Two Officers Shot and Killed on College Campus in Virginia

A campus police officer and a safety officer were shot and killed Tuesday on Virginia’s Bridgewater College campus.

The Daily News-Record reports police officer John Painter and safety officer J.J. Jefferson were both shot and fatally wounded.

The suspected shooter, 27-year-old Alexander Wyatt Campbell, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon.

Witnesses described Campbell as “a former student at Bridgewater College…[who] ran cross country for the Eagles.”

CNN quoted a statement from Bridgewater College president David Bushman:

Campus Police Officer John Painter and Campus Safety Officer JJ Jefferson were shot and killed on campus while protecting us…These officers were close friends, known to many of us as the ‘dynamic duo.’ John was JJ’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.

Jefferson and Painter responded to a call about a “suspicious man” on college grounds Tuesday about 1:20 p.m. Upon reaching the scene they found Campbell, who shot both of them. Campbell then fled but was soon apprehended. He was suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound when taken into custody.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.