Old Dominion University shooting being investigated as terrorism; gunman was previously convicted for ISIS support
The FBI says it's investigating a fatal Virginia university shooting as terrorism after a gunman, who served several years in prison for trying to support ISIS, killed one and injured two others on Thursday.
The suspect was identified as 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Virginia National Guardsman who had pleaded guilty in October 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the terror group ISIS, Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI's Norfolk Office, said during a news conference Thursday night. Jalloh was killed following the shooting at Old Dominion University, authorities said.
The shooter walked into a class at Constant Hall, which is part of the College of Business at Old Dominion, and asked if it was an ROTC class, a law enforcement source told CBS News. When someone responded that it was, the shooter opened fire, fatally injuring the class instructor, who was a retired Army officer.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger identified the instructor Thursday night as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, writing on social media that he "didn't just lead a life of service to our country, he taught and led others to follow that path."
Jalloh died after being "subdued" by students in the classroom following the shooting, but was not himself shot, Evans noted. CBS News has learned that one of the students killed the gunman with a knife.
"There were students in that room that subdued him, and rendered him no longer alive, I don't know how else to say it, they basically were able to terminate the threat," Evans said, later adding that "if not for them, I'm not sure, you know, what else he would have done."
FBI Director Kash Patel credited students and law enforcement with preventing the shooting from becoming a bigger tragedy.
"The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him – actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement," Patel said on social media.
Investigators believe he only had one weapon "on his person," Evans said, and no explosives have been found in his car or in any other locations.
"I can tell you that we have confirmed reports that prior to him conducting this act of terrorism, he shouted, stated, 'Allahu Akbar,' and he was formally a subject of a FBI investigation into material supporting terrorism," Evans told reporters.
Investigators have so far found no mention of the war in the Middle East as a possible motivating factor for Thursday's shooting, Evans said.
Two of the victims were transported by ambulance to the Level I trauma center at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the hospital said in a statement Thursday night. One of those patients died. The other remained in critical condition, the hospital said.
A third person was treated and released from the Sentara Independence free-standing emergency department in Virginia Beach after arriving in a personal vehicle.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said on social media that two of the victims were Army personnel. "I'm praying for them and all those impacted by this terrible event," Driscoll said.
Suspect was convicted in 2017 for trying to support ISIS
In February 2017, Jalloh was sentenced to 11 years in prison, according to the Justice Department, and was released early in December 2024, according to his Federal Bureau of Prisons record.
Evans said that in the 2016 case, Jalloh had sought "to conduct a terrorist attack similar to that" of the 2009 shooting at Texas' Fort Hood that killed 13 people and wounded dozens more.
At his 2017 sentencing, Jalloh claimed he deeply regretted his actions and was disgusted by ISIS.
"I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but this mistake of giving any support to the violent and extreme organization ISIS has been the most devastating one I have ever decided to make in my life," he told U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady, according to a transcript reviewed by CBS News.
He apologized to the American military and to the people of the United States, according to the transcript.
"I'm very, very sorry for what I have done," he said at the time. "I did not intend to cause any harm to anyone. And I want to say — I want to say, every time I see any atrocities that ISIS commits, I am disgusted by it because I know this is not what I want to be a part of."
The Virginia National Guard said in a statement to CBS News that Jalloh served as a combat engineer in the Virginia National Guard from April 30, 2009, to April 29, 2015, when he was honorably discharged. He held the rank of specialist and served in the 276th Engineer Battalion, 91st Troop Command.
A U.S. Army official also confirmed to CBS News that Jalloh had no deployments and left the Army with the rank of specialist.
The shooting happened hours before a Michigan synagogue was attacked. Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot told reporters there wasn't an ongoing threat to the city on the Virginia coast.
"We've learned nothing here today that makes us think that there's anything to fear beyond what we're dealing with here," Talbot said.
Just after noon, the university sent an all-clear notification.
"The emergency at Constant Hall has ended," the university said. "There is no longer an active threat to the campus community."
Students describe alarms going off when shooting happened: "It was just terrifying"
Kahari, a junior at the university who didn't provide his last name, told CBS affiliate WTKR-TV he was in class in the building when the shooting happened.
"We heard like faint screaming, and we just like looked back, we didn't know what it was, and then we heard the screams getting louder, and then that's when the alarm went off, and everyone just like ran out of the building," Kahari told WTKR-TV.
Another student told the station that his class fled the building when the fire alarm went off. He initially thought it was a fire drill because there was one about a week ago, and he said he didn't know about the shooter until he was at a nearby parking garage.
"It was just terrifying, it really was. Everything was just terrifying. Everybody was running, everybody was screaming, we didn't know what was going on," the student said.
He said he called his parents as soon as he was able to.
"I couldn't even get words out, I still really can't," he said. "It's surreal. I mean, you never think this to happen. You woke up, you came to class, you think it's going to be a normal day and then something like this happens."
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on X that it had agents on the scene. Patel also said the bureau was providing assistance.
The university said it will be closed Friday.
