“Shooter” is in custody at Bridgewater College
Bridgewater VA Feb 2, 2022 An individual is in police custody after Bridgewater College announce reports of an active shooter on campus Tuesday afternoon.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin called the person in custody “the shooter,” saying local and state police had responded to the situation and that Youngkin was monitoring the chain of events.
The college, home to about 1,500 undergraduates south of Harrisonburg, tweeted at 1:24 p.m., announcing the report of an active shooter and instructing people to shelter in place. Minutes later the college tweeted “This is not a test. More info to follow.”
Around the same time, Ecliff Graves was standing in his yard on East Riverside Drive, smoking a pipe and watching his dog. Then he saw a man running, carrying a large black duffle bag over his shoulder.
“Whatever he had in that bag was very heavy,” he said.
The man was headed south, away from the college and toward the North River, just a short walk from Bridgewater’s athletic fields. The man ran down the east side of Graves’ property and into the river, which is 15 or 20 yards wide and a few feet deep, neighbors said. The man crossed onto one of several islands in the middle of the river. Once on the island, he stopped to catch his breath, then took off, disappearing from Graves’ view.
A few minutes later, two police officers appeared and also crossed into the river. There was still snow on the ground Tuesday, but temperatures reached the high 30s.
Then Graves heard a shot.
“I heard one little pop,” he said. “It wounded like a hand gun. I said, ‘that’s sort of weird.’ “
Michael Souders, a James Madison University professor, was driving to his home on East Riverside Drive. The police had closed the road, so he found an alternate path home.
“Then all of a sudden, there was a flood of police officers” near his home, he said. There were eight or nine officers in front of his house carrying long guns and tactical gear. They flew drones into the air. Police told the residents to stay in their houses.
“It was concerning and a little weird to happen in a town of 5,000,” Souders said. “I didn’t realize the seriousness of it until I got some reports of what was actually happening.”
Diana Graves, Ecliff’s wife, a retired teacher, is familiar with active shooter situations. The events Tuesday were eerily familiar. But this was the first time she had come close to an actual shooter.
“I’m calm now,” she said. “I’ll probably be nervous afterward.”
There was a large police presence around Jopson Athletic Complex, with police tape wrapped from tree to tree, the Daily News-Record reported.
The town of Bridgewater posted to its website Tuesday afternoon, asking people to avoid the college and its surrounding area until further notice.
Harrisonburg police said the department had responded to “an active law enforcement scene” in the town of Bridgewater.
