Terror suspect in deadly Old Dominion shooting in Virginia was subdued by students, officials say
(CNN) — When a convicted ISIS supporter stepped into an ROTC classroom at Old Dominion University on Thursday and opened fire, the group of students inside barely hesitated before leaping up to subdue their attacker.
By the end of the struggle, the shooter was dead, but so too was one of their peers.
The FBI is now investigating the Thursday morning attack as an act of terrorism, identifying the shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Virginia National Guard member who has served prison time for attempting to aid the Islamic militant group a decade ago.
Before the attack began, FBI Special Agent In Charge Dominique Evans said Jalloh shouted “Allahu Akbar” — or “God is greater.”
“Brave ROTC members in that room subdued him, and if not for them, I’m not sure what else he may have done,” Evans said Thursday.
One of the students stabbed Jalloh, according to multiple law enforcement sources briefed on the case. It is unclear how the attacker was killed.
The victim who was killed was identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, according to Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who described him as a devoted ROTC instructor who “didn’t just lead a life of service to our country, he taught and led others to follow that path.”
Shah — a professor of military science at the university’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps — joined the Army in 2003, which included active service, and was deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the university’s website.
With over 600 combat flight hours, Shah had “numerous” awards for his service, including two Bronze Stars.
Two others were hospitalized with injuries, university police Chief Garrett Shelton said. He noted all three victims were university members.
The attack comes after two terror suspects on Saturday were accused of tossing makeshift bombs into a crowd of protesters outside the home of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
It also happened amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — a time of fasting and spiritual renewal for most Muslims.
As Jalloh supported ISIS in 2016, he commented that he believed Ramadan would be the ideal time to carry out an attack, according to court records.
In 2016, Jalloh tried to procure weapons to be used in what he believed would be an attack committed in the name of ISIS and also tried to donate money to the group, according to the Department of Justice.
Unbeknownst to Jalloh, he had been speaking to an FBI source who was monitoring his behavior. When discussing the timeline for a possible attack on US soil, Jalloh “expressed that it was better to plan an operation for Ramadan,” according to an affidavit from an FBI agent.
Jalloh pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2017. He was released from federal custody in December 2024.
Investigators believe Jalloh has long been inspired by a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, during which an Army psychiatrist killed 13 people and injured 32 others. He stated in 2016 that he had been thinking about conducting a similar attack, and Evans confirmed that his attack on Thursday appeared inspired by the event.
Jalloh served as a combat engineer from 2009 to 2015, an Army official said Thursday. He told the FBI source in 2016 he decided not to re-enlist after listening to online lectures by a deceased Al-Qaeda leader.
The FBI is still working to piece together a complete picture of what happened. Anyone with information about Jalloh or the attack is encouraged to submit a tip.
“A collection of those small details may help paint a complete picture,” Evans said.
Student’s ‘heart dropped’ at the sound of gunfire
The shooting at Constant Hall – the school’s main building for the College of Business – happened just days before a weeklong school break is scheduled to begin on Monday. After the shooting, the university canceled classes and operations on its main campus for the rest of Thursday and Friday.
“Our campus and our community have been truly shaken and forever impacted by this senseless act of violence, and we want to extend our thoughts and prayers to the families and the victims and those that were impacted by this act today,” university President Brian Hemphill said during Thursday’s news conference.
Police started to receive calls about the shooting at 10:43 a.m.; police officers arrived four minutes later; and by 10:50 a.m. “it was determined that the … assailant was deceased,” Shelton said.
An “all clear” was eventually given, the university said in online alerts. “There is no longer an active threat to the campus community,” the university said.
Old Dominion student Zachary Mulder had just left class in Constant Hall and was reading a book in a building across the way when a large group of people ran in “screaming ‘shooter’ and ‘gun’,” he said.
“My heart dropped. I didn’t really know what was going on. I just know I had to leave immediately,” Mulder told CNN affiliate WTKR. “It was pretty scary at that point, because I didn’t know really what was going on or how close the threat was.”
Two victims were taken to Norfolk General Hospital, Shelton said. Police later learned a third victim “took themselves to a hospital in Virginia Beach,” Shelton said.
Students, faculty and staff were being provided with lunch and counseling support after the shooting, an online message from Hemphill, the university president, said.
State support also was “being mobilized” to assist the university and Norfolk police, Spanberger said. “I have spoken with university leadership. My administration remains in close contact with local emergency responders.”
Initially, the university had reported an “active threat” at Constant Hall on its website. “Follow Run-Hide-Fight protocols. Emergency personnel responding. Avoid area,” an emergency alert from the university read.
Old Dominion University is a public institution with around 24,000 students, according to the school. It is located in Norfolk, some 90 miles southeast of Richmond and a 200-mile drive southeast of Washington, DC.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Holmes Lybrand, Devon Sayers, Toni Odejimi, Heather Holley and Haley Britzky contributed to this reporting.