A shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday left one person dead and two injured after a gunman opened fire in an ROTC classroom in Constant Hall shortly before 11 a.m. FBI Director Kash Patel and federal authorities described the attack as an act of terrorism. ROTC students in the classroom subdued and killed the attacker; the university sent an active-threat alert at 10:48 a.m. and declared the shooter neutralized by 11:30 a.m.

The victim was identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, 41, a professor of military science and head of ODU's Army ROTC program. A Virginia native and ODU alumnus, Shah was a decorated Army aviator who flew AH-64 Apache attack helicopters in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe, logging more than 1,200 flight hours, including 600 on combat missions. He received two Bronze Stars and an Air Medal with valor, and had grown ODU's ROTC program by nearly 50 percent since joining the university in 2022. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger called him a devoted instructor who "didn't just lead a life of service to our country, he taught and led others to follow that path."

The gunman was identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, a former Virginia Army National Guard combat engineer who served from 2009 to 2015 and left at the junior rank of specialist. According to FBI Special Agent in Charge Dominique Evans, Jalloh entered the classroom, asked whether it was an ROTC class, and opened fire on the instructor when told it was. He shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the attack and was killed by ROTC students in the room; Evans said he was not shot but declined to elaborate on how he was subdued.

Jalloh had a prior federal conviction stemming from a 2016 terrorism case in which he pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS. He had communicated with an overseas ISIS member and, during meetings with an FBI confidential informant, discussed the timing of a potential attack. Prosecutors had sought a 20-year sentence; a judge sentenced him to 11 years in 2017. Bureau of Prisons records show he was released in December 2024 after serving the federally required minimum of 85 percent of his sentence.

The FBI is leading the investigation and has not formally confirmed a final motive, though federal officials have pointed to Jalloh's prior plot to "murder U.S. military personnel" as relevant context. ODU President Brian O. Hemphill praised law enforcement's response and said the university would be closed Friday. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll confirmed that two other U.S. Army personnel were injured in the attack. The episode is expected to prompt scrutiny of federal protocols governing the supervised release and monitoring of individuals convicted of terrorism-related offenses.