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The Justice Department announced on Friday that charges have been filed against a man accused of illegally selling a firearm to the perpetrator of the recent shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The suspect, identified as Kenya Chapman, allegedly provided the weapon to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, despite Jalloh’s previous conviction related to terrorism.
Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard, reportedly opened fire in a university classroom on Thursday, shouting “Allahu akbar” during the attack. The tragic incident resulted in one fatality and left two others injured, according to official reports.
Authorities confirmed that Jalloh was prohibited from owning a firearm due to a past felony conviction for attempting to support the Islamic State extremist organization.
During an interview with federal agents, Chapman admitted to stealing the gun from a vehicle in Newport News, Virginia, approximately a year before the shooting. He then sold the weapon to Jalloh, whom he had met through work. Chapman claimed that Jalloh had expressed a need for the gun for self-defense in his role as a delivery driver. Although Chapman was aware that Jalloh had a criminal history, he insisted he was unaware of the felony conviction.
Chapman emphasized to agents that he was unaware of Jalloh’s intentions to carry out the attack, as detailed in the affidavit.
Earlier Friday, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Jalloh used a gun with an obliterated serial number, potentially complicating investigators’ efforts to determine how he obtained a firearm.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation, said investigators would have to re-surface the number in order to trace the gun.
Jalloh was a former Army National Guard member who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State extremist group.
The investigation continues
Jalloh, who yelled “Allahu akbar” before opening fire, was subdued and killed by ROTC students, according to FBI officials who praised the students’ bravery for preventing further harm. The shooting killed an ROTC leader who was a professor of military science at ODU, and left two others hurt.
One of them, who was hospitalized in critical condition, has been upgraded to fair condition, according to Sentara Health. The other was treated and released.
Jalloh, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in the Islamic State group case, was released from federal custody in December 2024. He was on supervised release, which is comparable to probation.
He was released about 2 1/2 years early after completing a drug treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told The AP. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.
It wasn’t clear how Jalloh qualified for the program, which allows inmates to shave up to a year off their sentences. Inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically aren’t eligible for such programs or other sentence-reducing credits.
A message seeking information about Jalloh’s incarceration and release was left with the federal Bureau of Prisons.
At a news conference Thursday, a reporter asked the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk field office, Dominique Evans, if there was a mention of the ongoing war in Iran. “None whatsoever,” she replied. The U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.
The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State group. And on Thursday, a man of Lebanese origin was fatally shot after driving his vehicle into a Detroit-area synagogue in what the FBI called a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”
Evans on Thursday also requested the public’s help as authorities continue to investigate the shooting and Jalloh, saying no detail is too small.
Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said less than 10 minutes passed between when officers were called about a shooting in the university’s business school building and when responders determined the shooter was dead. Authorities have not said exactly how the ROTC students killed Jalloh, though Evans said they did not shoot him.
The U.S. Army Cadet Command has said on social media that three members of the U.S. Army ROTC program at Old Dominion were injured, including one who died.
ROTC is a program where students receive a scholarship to attend college while training to become commissioned officers in the U.S. military.
Slain instructor remembered as family man, leader, protector
The victim who died was Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, a 42-year-old from Chesapeake who leaves behind a spouse and a child, the U.S. Army Cadet Command at Old Dominion said in a social media post.
Shah attended ODU as an ROTC student, according to his biography on the university’s website, and had returned in 2022 as a leader for the program. In the Army, Shah piloted helicopters over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe.
“Above all else, Lt. Col. Shah embodied what it means to be a devoted family man, a revered leader, and heroic protector even in his final moments,” Old Dominion President Brian Hemphill said in a Friday message to the university community.
On Friday morning, in honor of his close friend Shah, Eddie Flack poured out a bottle of Wild Turkey on a lawn where flagpoles stand on campus across from Constant Hall. Flack, also of Chesapeake, said the two became firm friends while enrolled at ODU.
“I love you Brandon. Rest well with the creator. I love you,” Flack said as he poured out the whiskey and looked up at the sky.
“Sorry Brandon. The world needs more love,” Flack said, weeping. “We need to spread more love and not this hatred.”
The shooter also had a background in military service. Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone, served as a specialist with the Virginia Army National Guard from 2009 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged.
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Durkin Richer reported from Washington and Sisak reported from New York City. Associated Press reporters Michael Biesecker in Washington; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia; and Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia, contributed.
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