Bridgewater College in Virginia reported an active shooter on Tuesday where two safety officers were shot and killed, according to police reports.
The victims were a campus law enforcement officer and a campus safety officer employed by the school. The officers were shot around 1:20 p.m. at the small private liberal arts college, an hour northwest of Charlottesville, according to authorities.
A male suspect was taken into custody about 35 minutes after the shooting, Virginia State Police said.
The local Daily News-Record reported that the college’s president David Bushman identified the officers as John Painter and J.J. Jefferson in an email to students. “These officers were close friends, known to many of us as the ‘dynamic duo’ said Bushman.
A student named Alex Hulleman who was on campus during the shooting stated that he heard numerous shots before the officers were killed. “We looked out the window and we saw the two officers were down, and eventually they covered their bodies with sheets,” said Hulleman. He stated that he was in a classroom with approximately 20 other students when they heard “a bunch of shots” and hit the floor immediately. “We heard some moaning, we heard some people talking, a couple of people barricaded the door, we stayed there for a while.”
Around 1:25, Bridgewater College told students to “shelter in place” and wrote on tweeted “This is not a test.”
The school notified students that a suspect had been taken into custody about 40 minutes after the incident was reported on the college’s Twitter account.
“For additional safety purposes, law enforcement officials will be moving through buildings. Do not be alarmed. Listen to officers’ instructions,” the school wrote.