Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, the suspect identified in Thursday’s deadly shooting at Old Dominion University, previously pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in 2016 for attempting to provide materials to the Islamic State.
The suspect killed one person and injured two others on the university’s campus, according to Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
“The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him – actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement,” Patel said in a post on X. “Our Joint Terrorism Task Force is fully engaged, embedded with local authorities, and providing all resources necessary in the investigation.”
Jalloh was previously a member of the Army National Guard. He was born in Sierra Leone and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, according to Fox News.
He was first arrested in 2016, after authorities discovered that he had attempted to procure weapons to be used in an ISIS-inspired attack, according to a criminal complaint. He also attempted to send money to the terrorist organization at the time.
Jalloh was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to eleven years in prison and five years of supervised release.
However, he was released in December 2024 — just 15 months before the attack on ODU’s campus.
Jalloh’s radical ideology ran deep. According to the Justice Department, he left the military after he began listening to online lectures by al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi. He “praised” the July 2015 terrorist attack that killed four U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor in Chattanooga, Tenn. Further, Jalloh said he considered executing an attack similar to one at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 people and wounded 23 others, according to the DOJ.
Officials have said Jalloh allegedly specifically targeted an ROTC class in his attack on Thursday.
“We can confirm that two members of the university ROTC program were shot and were taken to a local hospital to treat their injuries,” the U.S. Army Cadet Command said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger said she was in communication with university leadership and that her administration remains “in close contact with local emergency responders as state support is being mobilized to assist ODU and Norfolk.”