A quiet university campus shattered last week when a gunman opened fire at Old Dominion University in Virginia, claiming the life of ROTC instructor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah and leaving two others wounded. The shooter, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was ultimately subdued and killed by courageous ROTC students, but the aftermath has revealed a disturbing chain of events leading to the tragedy.
The focus has now shifted to how Jalloh, a convicted felon, obtained the weapon used in the attack. Kenya Chapman, a Virginia man, has been charged with providing false statements related to the illegal sale of a .22-caliber handgun to Jalloh for just $100. The gun itself had been stolen a year prior, adding another layer of complexity to the case.
Jalloh’s past is deeply troubling. He pleaded guilty in 2016 to providing material support to the Islamic State, receiving an eleven-year sentence followed by five years of supervised release. Remarkably, he was released early in December 2024 after completing a drug treatment program, a decision raising questions given the nature of his original conviction – terrorism-related offenses are generally excluded from such early release considerations.
The FBI is investigating the shooting as a potential act of terrorism. This investigation comes as investigators uncover Jalloh’s prior radicalization and expressed intentions. Before his military service ended, he began consuming extremist propaganda, specifically the online lectures of al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi.
Court documents reveal Jalloh openly praised previous terrorist attacks, including the 2015 Chattanooga shooting and even contemplated carrying out an attack similar to the 2009 Fort Hood massacre. He had once envisioned procuring weapons for an ISIS-inspired attack on U.S. soil and attempted to send funds to support the organization.
In a surprising turn, prior to his sentencing, Jalloh expressed remorse and claimed to reject ISIS, stating he had been “manipulated” by the group’s propaganda. He described feeling like an “idiot” for falling prey to their distorted interpretation of Islam and professed continued respect for the American people and their values.
Adding another unsettling dimension to the case, Chapman, the man who sold Jalloh the gun, was previously investigated by the ATF in 2021 for three separate straw purchases – instances where he falsely claimed to be the actual buyer of firearms. Three guns from those purchases later surfaced at crime scenes, including a homicide.
Despite this history, the Department of Justice declined to prosecute Chapman at the time, opting instead for a warning letter. He admitted to the sales and even offered a letter of apology. This decision is now under scrutiny as investigators piece together the events that culminated in the tragedy at Old Dominion University.
Jalloh himself had a six-year military career, serving as a combat engineer in the Virginia National Guard with an honorable discharge. He arrived in the United States as a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone, a background that adds further depth to the unfolding narrative.
The investigation continues, seeking to understand the full scope of Jalloh’s motivations and the circumstances that allowed a convicted terrorist sympathizer to obtain a weapon and carry out a deadly attack on a university campus.
