Federal authorities are investigating the classroom attack in Norfolk as an act of terrorism after students stopped the gunman.
NORFOLK, Va. — A gunman opened fire inside a classroom at Old Dominion University on Thursday, killing one ROTC instructor and wounding two other people before students subdued him in a campus attack that federal authorities are investigating as terrorism.
The shooting jolted the Norfolk campus just before midday and quickly drew local, state and federal investigators. Authorities identified the gunman as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Army National Guard member who had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State. The attack shut down the main campus, sent students scrambling for safety and raised urgent questions about how Jalloh got a weapon after a felony terrorism conviction and what, if any, warning signs were missed before the shooting.
Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said officers were sent to Constant Hall after reports that people were being shot in a classroom inside the business school building. The first reports came in Thursday morning, and Shelton said officers arrived and determined in less than 10 minutes that the gunman was dead. The chief said investigators were still working to determine the full cause of the shooter’s death and did not say whether any officer fired a weapon. The university first reported two victims, but Shelton later said a third injured person had taken themselves to a hospital. Within about an hour, the school sent an all-clear message saying there was no longer a threat on campus.
Federal officials soon tied the attack to a man already known to law enforcement. The FBI identified the shooter as Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone who once served in the Virginia Army National Guard. Court records from his 2016 terrorism case said he had tried to give $500 to the Islamic State and had attempted to buy a rifle as part of what prosecutors described as a murder plot in the United States. He was later sentenced to 11 years in prison and released from federal custody in December 2024. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post that the shooting was being investigated as an act of terrorism and that “a group of brave students” stepped in to stop him. Authorities have not publicly detailed a motive beyond that investigation, and some of the most important facts, including how Jalloh selected the classroom and obtained the firearm, remained unresolved Friday.
The people caught in the attack were closely tied to the university and to the military community around it. Sentara Health said two patients were taken by ambulance to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, a Level I trauma center. One later died, and the other remained hospitalized. A third person was treated and released after reaching a separate Sentara emergency department in Virginia Beach by personal vehicle. Army officials said the wounded included members of the university’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. Old Dominion later identified the person killed as Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah, an ROTC instructor and ODU alumnus. The campus sits in a region where military life is woven into daily life, with Naval Station Norfolk nearby and nearly 30% of ODU students described by the university as military-affiliated.
That setting sharpened the impact of the attack and the questions surrounding it. According to the affidavit filed in Jalloh’s earlier federal case, he told an informant he had become radicalized after exposure to extremist lectures and had thought about carrying out an attack similar to the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood. Prosecutors in that case said he tried more than once to join the Islamic State and sought to acquire a rifle before his arrest. A later AP report said the gun used in Thursday’s shooting had an obliterated serial number, a detail that could make it harder for investigators to trace where it came from. That finding added another layer to the inquiry because Jalloh, as a convicted felon, was barred from legally possessing a gun. Investigators have not yet publicly explained whether the firearm was stolen, bought through another person or acquired by some other means.
The legal and investigative response is now moving on several tracks. Local police are handling the crime scene and victim timeline, while the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are helping examine the weapon, the suspect’s movements and any terrorism connections. Officials have said the investigation remains in its early stages. No charges are expected against the dead gunman, but authorities could still bring cases against anyone found to have helped him obtain a firearm or conceal his plans. University operations on the main campus were suspended through Friday, and officials told students and staff to stay away from Constant Hall while emergency crews and investigators continued their work. Counseling and food services were kept open for students who remained on campus.
As the investigation widened, grief spread through the campus and beyond. In a message to the university community, President Brian Hemphill called the shooting a tragedy and thanked police officers, emergency management workers and city responders for their fast action. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said state support was being mobilized to help the university. Jalloh’s sister, Fatmatu Jolloh of Sterling, said she knew nothing about the attack and said she had last seen her brother two days earlier. “I have no idea what is going on,” she said. “I know nothing.” That mix of shock, mourning and unanswered questions framed the first full day after the shooting as students, faculty and investigators tried to understand how violence erupted in a classroom on a weekday morning.
The case remained active Friday, with the FBI and local police still piecing together the gunman’s path to campus, the source of the weapon and the full sequence inside Constant Hall before the next public briefing.
Author note: Last updated March 13, 2026.