ROTC Cadets Kill Gunman in ODU Terror Shooting

Army ROTC students at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, subdued and killed a gunman Thursday after he opened fire inside the university's business school building, leaving one person dead and two others wounded. The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.

The shooter, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone and former Virginia Army National Guard specialist, had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State and served roughly eight years of an 11-year sentence. He was on supervised release — comparable to probation — at the time of Thursday's attack and would have remained under supervision until 2029, according to court records. He yelled "Allahu Akbar" before opening fire, the FBI said.

Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI's Norfolk field office, said the ROTC students showed "extreme bravery and courage" and prevented further loss of life by stopping Jalloh. The students subdued him and "rendered him no longer alive," Evans said. "I don't know how else to say it." She confirmed Jalloh was not shot but did not provide further details on his cause of death.

Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said fewer than 10 minutes elapsed between the initial call and confirmation that the shooter was dead.

The victim who died was identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, an Army ROTC leader at ODU who had flown helicopters over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe. Two of the wounded were also ROTC members, according to Lt. Col. Jimmy Delongchamp, public information officer for the U.S. Army Cadet Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. One hospitalized victim remained in critical condition Thursday, according to Sentara Health. The other had been treated and released.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media the campus shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Evans said Jalloh aspired to carry out an attack similar to the 2009 Fort Hood shootings, which killed 13 people. A 2016 court affidavit detailed a three-month FBI sting operation in which Jalloh attempted to donate $500 to the Islamic State and purchase an assault rifle.

ODU, which enrolls about 24,000 students, canceled classes and suspended campus operations through Friday. The school sits near Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world.

ODU President Brian Hemphill expressed gratitude for the emergency response and extended condolences to those affected. The investigation is ongoing.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.