Wednesday morning started like any other school day at Westwood Hills Elementary, but everything changed at 9:12 a.m. Nineteen-year-old Anthony Ignatiadis-Isabelle walked up to the building and forced his way through a locked door. He was not a student at the school and had no clear reason to be on the property. Within seconds, panic spread through the hallways as emergency alarms went off.
Ignatiadis-Isabelle moved through the building with a firearm. As he pushed inside, he confronted an adult staff member in the corridor. He pulled the trigger, shooting the employee. Emergency calls started pouring into the local 911 dispatch center from frightened teachers and staff who locked down their classrooms immediately.
Waynesboro police officers responded to the scene within three minutes of the first call. Patrol cars pulled up outside the school at 9:15 a.m., and officers rushed straight into the building with weapons drawn. They began clearing rooms one by one while looking for the gunman.
Officers eventually made their way to the school library. When they entered the room, they found Ignatiadis-Isabelle dead on the floor. Police confirmed he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before officers could reach him. Luckily, no students were inside the library when the gunman was there.
Investigating officers are still searching for a motive behind the attack. Court records show Ignatiadis-Isabelle had no adult criminal record in Virginia, and local school officials confirmed he never attended Waynesboro High School. Police Chief David Shaw said investigators are reviewing his background to figure out why he targeted the elementary school.
The wounded staff member was rushed to Augusta Health for emergency treatment. Doctors determined the gunshot wound was non-life-threatening. The employee received medical care and was officially released from the hospital later that same afternoon.
Westwood Hills Elementary remained closed while state and local police gathered evidence inside the building. Authorities placed extra police officers at every other school in the city to keep everyone safe. Investigators continue to check electronic records and interview witnesses to piece together the full timeline of the suspect’s final hours.
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