Waynesboro Police release new information on Westwood Hills shooting

Waynesboro Police released new information on the shooting at Westwood Hills Elementary School on Wednesday, which, based on what we have come to know, we’re fortunate didn’t end up becoming a mass casualty incident on the order of Sandy Hook or Uvalde.

Per a post on the Waynesboro PD Facebook page timestamped Friday at 5:30 p.m., we now know that the suspect, Anthony Ignatiadis-Isabelle, 19, drove to the area, parked at Ridgeview Park, and walked to the school property, roughly a half-mile from the parking lot to the back side of the school, carrying a 20-gauge shotgun.

Interjecting here: we don’t have information yet on the number of shells would have been available to him – the range would be from as low as two to as many as 20, if he was using a high-capacity magazine.

That will be important information to have, when it becomes available.

Back to the PD report: upon arriving at the school, Ignatiadis-Isabelle “forced his way in by shooting through a rear door and breaking through it.”

We’d already reported that earlier today, based on accounts from eyewitnesses and parents relating what they were told by their children.

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ICYMI

• Westwood Hills parents demand meeting with administrators, as harrowing details of shooting emerge

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“At this time, there is no evidence that anyone else was directly involved in Wednesday’s incident, or that any other parties, co-conspirators, or others besides the suspect were at or near the school at the time to commit violence. The suspect appears to have acted alone, although further investigation may reveal information that changes this stance,” the PD report tells us.

Investigators are still working “to confirm the suspect’s activity, motive and actions leading up to and during the event,” the report tells us.

More from the report:

• “There is no connection or relationship between the suspect and the staff member who was injured.”
• “School resource officers were among the first officers to respond to the school. They arrived about a minute and thirty seconds after the initial notification.”
• “The quick-thinking and heroic actions of Westwood Hills staff in initiating lockdown procedures upon immediate notification on Wednesday morning undoubtedly saved lives. Combined with the quick response by law enforcement, everything further minimized the opportunity for the suspect to commit any further violence.”