NORFOLK, Virginia: The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) students at Virginia's Old Dominion University on March 13 subdued and killed a former Army National Guard member who opened fire in a classroom.
Authorities said the former National Guard member, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, had spent eight years in prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State.
Jalloh had yelled "Allahu Akbar" before he started shooting, in which one person was killed, and two were wounded. The person killed by the shooter was identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, the leader of the school's ROTC program.
Lt. Col. Jimmy Delongchamp, the public information officer for the U.S. Army Cadet Command at Fort Knox, told The Associated Press that two other people who were shot were members of the Army ROTC at Old Dominion University.
Dominique Evans, the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Norfolk, Virginia, said at a news conference that the ROTC students showed extreme bravery and courage. Evans said the students stopped Jalloh and prevented more people from being killed.
Evans said the students overpowered Jalloh and made sure he was no longer alive. She added that she did not know how else to describe what happened. Evans confirmed that Jalloh was not shot but did not give more details.
Kash Patel, director of the FBI, said on social media that the campus shooting was being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Evans said Jalloh wanted to carry out a terrorist attack similar to the Fort Hood shooting.
Jalloh had pleaded guilty in 2016 to trying to help the Islamic State and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released from federal prison in December 2024.
Ashraf Nubani, a lawyer in Virginia who represented Jalloh in his 2016 criminal case, said in a statement that he had not been in contact with Jalloh recently and had no information about the events on March 12.
Jalloh's sister, Fatmatu Jalloh of Sterling, Virginia, said she knew nothing about the attack. She said she last saw her brother two days earlier and had no idea what was happening or who to contact.
Garrett Shelton, the police chief at Old Dominion University, said less than 10 minutes passed between the first report of a shooting in the university's business school building and the moment responders confirmed the shooter was dead.
Shelton said authorities had not yet fully determined the cause of the shooter's death. He also did not confirm whether any police officers fired their weapons.
