ROTC Students Subdue Gunman in Terrorism-Linked Shooting at Old Dominion University, Leaving One Dead and Two Injured

A shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday resulted in one death and two injuries, with officials crediting the swift actions of ROTC students for preventing further casualties. The incident occurred in a College of Business classroom when a gunman opened fire after confirming the class was an ROTC session. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was killed by students who subdued him using a knife. The deceased victim was Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah, an Army ROTC instructor at the university.

FBI officials have classified the shooting as an act of terrorism. Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was a former Virginia National Guardsman who had previously served several years in federal prison for attempting to provide material support to the terrorist group ISIS. According to the FBI, Jalloh shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire. He was on probation at the time of the attack, having been released earlier this year after serving a sentence related to his 2016 guilty plea. The FBI’s Norfolk field office special agent in charge, Dominique Evans, praised the ROTC students for their bravery, stating that their actions “rendered him no longer alive” and likely saved many lives.

Jalloh’s background includes service as a combat engineer in the Virginia National Guard from 2009 to 2015, during which he held the rank of specialist and was honorably discharged. He had no deployments during his military tenure. Court documents reveal that in 2016, Jalloh attempted to purchase weapons as part of a plot targeting U.S. military personnel. He was arrested after buying an AR-15 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison followed by five years of probation. His defense attorneys previously described his extremist views as a misguided search for identity rather than a genuine commitment to violence.

The two injured individuals have not been publicly identified but were reported to be Army personnel. One was in critical condition, while the other was treated and released from a local hospital. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger honored Lt. Col. Shah’s service and leadership, expressing gratitude toward the students, first responders, and law enforcement officers who responded to the attack. Investigators have found no evidence of explosives or additional weapons linked to the suspect, and no direct connection to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East has been established. The FBI continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack.