HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia State Police announced on Tuesday night, after two campus officers were shot and killed at Bridgewater College, that they had arrested 27-year-old Alexander Wyatt Campbell of Ashland. Hanover County Public Schools told 8News that a student with the same name graduated from Patrick Henry High School in 2013.

Hanover schools did not confirm the suspect is the same person who graduated from Patrick Henry.

However, the timeline does add up with when Campbell started college.

Campbell attended Bridgewater College from 2013 to 2017 and ran track and cross country during his time there, according to Bridgewater College.

There are also records online from MileStat.com that show Campbell’s track meet results from Patrick Henry High School.

It is unclear if Campbell had remained in the Bridgewater area after his graduation from the college, but on Tuesday he was arrested in connection to the double fatal shooting on the school’s campus.

Following his arrest, the Richmond Times-Dispatch interviewed Campbell’s mother, Cheryl Campbell, who said her son was mentally ill and that “he did something that I could not control and no one could come to help him.”

The shooting claimed the lives of two officers who served the campus and sent the entire college into a lockdown.

Virginia State Police said that officers responded to a call at Bridgewater College’s Memorial Hall Tuesday around 1:30 p.m.

There was a brief interaction between the suspect, Campbell, and the two officers before state police claim Campbell opened fire. Both officers were shot and killed. They were identified as Campus Police Officer John Painter and Campus Safety Officer J.J. Jefferson.

Local law enforcement agencies immediately received 911 calls and responded to the college, putting the campus and beginning a search for the suspect.

Eventually someone matching the shooter description was spotted on Riverside Drive, the suspect tried to escape law enforcement by crossing the North River and reaching an island. But, police officers waded across the river behind him and took him into custody.

The suspect was later identified as Campbell and his mugshot was released by the Rockingham County Jail. He is being held there without bond.

According to state police, Campbell has been charged with the following crimes:

  • One felony count of aggravated murder of a police officer
  • One felony count of first degree murder 
  • One felony count of aggravated murder of multiple persons within 3 years
  • One felony count of aggravated murder of multiple persons
  • One felony count of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony

Campbell was shot at some point on Tuesday but Virginia State Police said it is unclear if he shot himself or if he was shot by Officer Painter.