A 19-year-old armed suspect entered a Virginia elementary school roughly 30 miles west of Charlottesville on Wednesday morning, wounding an adult employee before fatally shooting himself, officials said at a news conference later in the day.
Waynesboro Police Chief David Shaw identified the suspect as Anthony Ignatiadis-Isabelle and said he was discovered “dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Police said Ignatiadis-Isabelle was found inside the library at Westwood Hills Elementary School. No students were in the library when the incident unfolded, authorities said.
Waynesboro Public Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Cassell credited the school’s emergency preparation, saying the district’s lockdown training and safety procedures functioned as intended during the frightening situation.
Authorities responded to reports of a shooting at Westwood Hills Elementary School in Waynesboro, Virginia, on Sept. 2, 2026. (WGME)
“Our safety and security protocols and procedures worked. Staff notified law enforcement immediately, and our school executed lockdown procedures. Every student and staff member is safe and returned home to their families,” Cassell said.
Visibly emotional, Cassell said the day represented the kind of crisis no school community ever wants to face. “If you don’t get emotional today, you never will. Today is the day every school system hopes they never have to deal with,” he said. “Please hug your children and your families this evening.”
Waynesboro Public Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Cassell addressed reporters following the shooting at Westwood Hills Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2026. (WVAW)
Ignatiadis-Isabelle had not attended any school in the district, Cassell told reporters.
Authorities did not share any details about an alleged motive, nor did they reveal anything about the weapon used or if the deceased gunman had a connection to the staff member who suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
The identity of the staff member, who was treated and released from the hospital, has not been made public.
Police emphasized multiple times throughout the press conference that the investigation remains active and ongoing.
The last school shooting in Virginia occurred on Aug. 15 at Virginia State University in Chesterfield County. Five students were left injured and the suspect, 19-year-old Camron Harris, was arrested the same day after police said officers found him hiding in a closet inside one of the campus dorm buildings.
