Teenage gunman dead after opening fire inside Virginia elementary school Wednesday morning

Waynesboro City Police Department Chief David Shaw identified Anthony I. Ignatiadis-Isabelle, 19, of Waynesboro, as the gunman in a shooting at Westwood Hills Elementary School in the Virginia’s western region on Wednesday morning.

Ignatiadis-Isabelle forced entry into the elementary school around 9:12 a.m., Shaw told reporters in an evening press conference the same day. A school staff member was shot while no students were injured. Police found Ignatiadis-Isabelle dead in the school’s library after apparently shooting himself. 

School leaders had placed the facility on lockdown and reunited students with their parents in a nearby church after it was lifted around noon. Shaw said approximately three minutes passed between the department receiving a call about the shooter and law enforcement officers locating the suspect.

A school staff member suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound, was transported for emergency treatment and released. The Waynesboro Police Department and other teams including the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident that unfolded three weeks into the school year. 

“Today is the day every school system hopes they never have to deal with,” said Waynesboro Public Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Cassell. He said that the school’s staff “immediately” notified law enforcement, touting the effectiveness of the district’s safety and security protocols and procedures. 

“Every student and staff member is safe and returned home to their families. Please hug your children and your families this evening,” Cassell said. 

Shaw and Cassell confirmed that no students were in the library at the time of the incident this morning, and that the shooter was not or has been a student. 

For the remainder of the week, Shaw said additional law enforcement will be at the school and the case remains an active investigation. The school will be closed on Thursday.

Shaw credited the partnership between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies who responded to the emergency. 

“These are situations that we train for across all professions. We hope we never have to respond to them, but when we do. At the end of the day, everybody works together as one team, and that’s what was demonstrated today.”

Gov. Abigail Spanberger posted on social media Wednesday morning that she was monitoring the situation. 

“My heart is with these young students, their parents and families, and the teachers and staff at the school,” Spanberger posted. “Thank you to the first responders who are assisting at the scene.” 

The shooting is the latest on Virginia k-12 school property since a summer shooting at an Arlington middle school in July. In 2023, a then-6-year-old student brought a firearm from home to his Newport News elementary school and shot his teacher.