NORFOLK, Va. — The suspect who killed one person and injured two others at Old Dominion University on Thursday has been identified by authorities as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, according to the FBI.
The shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post. He said the shooter is dead because of “a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him.”
Their actions “undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement,” Patel said.
Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard, was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was released from federal custody in December 2024.
Ashraf Nubani, a Virginia attorney who represented Jalloh in his 2016 criminal case, did not immediately respond to messages Thursday seeking comment.
Jalloh served in the Virginia National Guard from April 30, 2009, to April 29, 2015, the Virginia National Guard told CBS 6. He held the rank of specialist when he separated with an honorable discharge.
He served in the 276th Engineer Battalion, 91st Troop Command as a combat engineer.
Watch: Who is Mohamed Jalloh? Watch this report from 2016
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said officers responded after receiving reports that people were being shot in one of the classrooms in the university’s business school building, Constant Hall.
After the university initially said there were two victims, Shelton said authorities learned that there was a third victim who brought themselves to a hospital. It wasn’t immediately clear how the shooter died.
He did not acknowledge whether any officers fired a weapon.
He said all three victims are affiliated with the university. Shelton said authorities are “very early” in the investigation and have not yet determined the “full cause of death” of the shooter.
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