ROTC cadets were able to subdue and kill an Old Dominion University gunman, officials said
When a gunman opened fire at Old Dominion University on Thursday, Officials said Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets intervened to subdue and kill the suspect, killing an instructor and wounding two other people.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Dominic Evans told reporters that the suspect, identified as Mohammed Jalloh, a former Army National Guard officer convicted of providing material support to ISIS, was attempting to commit a terrorist attack.
The gunman opened fire in Constant Hall, an academic building, around 10:43 a.m. and was found dead minutes after officers arrived, the Old Dominion University Police Chief said. Garrett Shelton said during a press conference.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger identified the person killed as Lt. Colonel Brandon Shah.
Lt. Col. Brandon Shah was a professor of military science and ROTC instructor at Old Dominion University in Virginia.
ODU
“Lt. Col. Shah, a dedicated ROTC instructor, not only lived a life of service to our country, but taught and led others to follow that path,” Spanberger said in a statement on social media.
The ROTC cadets were in the classroom when he opened fire and intervened, rendering him “no longer alive,” the FBI said.
Police arrive outside the Old Dominion University campus after reports of an active shooter on March 12, 2026, in Norfolk, Virginia.
John Clark/AP
Evans, the FBI special agent in charge, did not go into detail about how the suspected shooter was killed, but said he was not shot. “They were able to basically end the threat,” she said.
Jalloh, who was previously convicted in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to the Armed Islamic Group.
Jalloh was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2017 and was released in December 2024, according to Bureau of Prisons records.
He served in the Virginia Army National Guard as a combat engineer from April 2009 to April 2015. He had no deployments. He left the Army as a specialist, an entry-level rank that a soldier automatically reaches in four years.
The suspected gunman has been identified as Mohammed Jalloh, who was previously convicted in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to ISIS.
Muhammad Jalouh/Facebook
He allegedly walked into a classroom at Old Dominion on Thursday and asked if it was an ROTC class, and when someone answered “yes,” he shot the instructor several times, according to sources. Evans claimed he shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the incident.
When he pleaded guilty in 2016, Jalloh admitted that he had communicated with an ISIS member who was located abroad, who introduced him to someone in the United States who was actually an undercover FBI informant.
In this photo released by the Norfolk Police Department, first responders are seen at the scene of a shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 12, 2026.
Norfolk Police Department
It is believed that the ISIS member was actively planning an attack and it is believed that Jalloh will assist the informant in carrying it out. During one meeting with an FBI informant, Gallo was asked about the timeline of the operation, and he commented that it was best to plan an attack during Ramadan, court records say.
The prosecution had recommended that Jalloh spend 20 years in prison. It is not immediately clear why he was released before the end of his 11-year sentence, although it is not unusual in the federal prison system for inmates to be released before serving their full prison term.
said a sophomore named Jennifer ABC Hampton, Va., affiliate WVEC She was waiting for her midterm exam when she heard a group of people saying, “Get out, get out, get out.”
“Suddenly, we heard a noise. Many people were roaring, and they started to get up,” she said. “The guy who was next to me, we looked at each other, and we started running, and that’s when we heard, you know, gunshots.”
She praised the university’s quick communication through alerts, saying: “I’m very proud of how quickly the situation was handled.”
Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton speaks at a news conference on March 12, 2026, in Norfolk, Virginia.
WVEC
Shelton told reporters that the investigation is still ongoing and that they are combing the campus for evidence.
“We now have to search every room in that facility. We have found hidden students, faculty and staff,” he said.
Only one weapon was found on the suspect, Evans said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that the bureau is treating the shooting as an “act of terrorism,” and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will work with local police in the investigation.
The university said there was no longer any threat, adding that classes had been canceled for the rest of the day and Friday.
“Today was a tragic day for the Old Dominion University campus,” Old Dominion President Brian Hemphill told reporters.
