On February 1st, 2022, one campus police officer and one campus safety officer, John Painter and J.J. Jefferson, were killed by an active shooter on campus at Bridgewater College. The suspect, Alexander Campbell’s motives are unknown.

Bridgewater College is a small liberal arts college, in Bridgewater, Virginia. A small number of 1,500 students are enrolled, and thankfully none were hurt in the incident. John Painter and J.J. Jefferson were known as the “dynamic duo” around campus and weren’t just part of the campus safety and security team. They would eat with them in the cafeteria and offer words advice to anyone who needed them. Painter was also Jefferson’s best man at his wedding.

Alexander Wyatt Campbell was reported as a “suspicious adult male” around 1:20 PM. Both Jefferson and Painter responded to the call and after a brief interaction with the man, Campbell opened fire and fled the scene. Campbell has been charged with two capital murder charges.

When asked, what is your opinion on the number of recent shootings in the U.S.? Paige Barbour (10) answered, “I am very concerned and feel like larger steps need to be taken to end gun violence.” The number of shootings this year especially on school campus’, has steadily increased. Hopefully, this scary problem will be solved soon.