ROTC Students Kill Convicted ISIS Supporter After He Shoots Army Lt. Col. at Old Dominion

On March 12, 2026 an armed assailant entered Constant Hall at Old Dominion University, asked whether it was an ROTC class, shouted “Allahu Akbar,” and opened fire; the attack killed one person and wounded others before students in the classroom subdued the attacker and he was later found dead while investigators continue to probe the exact cause of death.

“Authorities said no one else was injured in the attack”

Al Jazeera

Multiple outlets reported the classroom exchange and the attacker’s shouted phrase, and law enforcement described the episode as a rapid, lethal incident that was contained within minutes by students and first responders.

Al Jazeera

Authorities gave a temporary lockdown of the campus while they secured the building and began a terrorism investigation.

Law enforcement identified the attacker as Mohamed Bailor (Mohamed) Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone and a former Virginia Army National Guard member; reporting across outlets noted that he had previously pleaded guilty and been sentenced in a terrorism case involving attempts to support the Islamic State, and that he was released from federal custody in late 2024.

Sources vary on precise dates in the court record — some accounts cite a 2016 guilty plea and an 11-year sentence imposed in 2017 — but they consistently report his prior federal conviction for attempting to provide material support to ISIL/ISIS.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Students in the classroom are credited with stopping greater loss of life after confronting and subduing the gunman; law enforcement said ROTC cadets physically engaged the attacker, one student reportedly used a blade, and FBI officials praised the cadets’ “extreme bravery and courage” for terminating the threat before police arrived.

“ROTC students at Old Dominion University subdued and killed shooter who left 1 dead, 2 hurt ROTC students at Old Dominion University subdued and killed shooter who left 1 dead, 2 hurt A former Army National Guard member who had spent eight years in prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State opened fire on a classroom at Virginia’s Old Dominion University on Thursday before ROTC students subdued and killed him, authorities said”

Associated Press News

Authorities said the suspect died during that confrontation and that the students did not shoot him, while investigators continue to piece together the exact sequence of events and the attacker’s cause of death.

The person killed in the shooting was identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, an ROTC instructor and a veteran who had flown helicopters over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe and who had earned multiple awards for his service; officials and local leaders memorialized his service while hospitals treated wounded students, including at least one in critical condition.

University and state leaders described Shah as a devoted instructor whose leadership and combat experience were central to the ODU ROTC program.

BBC

Investigators, including the FBI and local law enforcement, are treating the shooting as a terrorism investigation and have urged the public to provide tips; police response time was rapid, officers confirmed the shooter was dead within minutes, and the university canceled classes and paused operations while authorities completed their initial work.

“But that's exactly what they did”

Fox News

Some outlets placed the attack amid a broader climate of heightened domestic alert, and officials said the Joint Terrorism Task Force and federal agents were fully engaged.

Fox News