Old Dominion University shooter killed ROTC instructor in classroom

An Army lieutenant colonel and ROTC instructor was identified as the victim killed when a gunman with ties to the Islamic State opened fire Thursday at Virginia’s Old Dominion University. Two others were also wounded before ROTC students subdued and killed the shooter.

Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah was a professor of military science and department chair with the university’s ROTC program.

ROTC students subdued and killed shooter

Investigators say the gunman specifically targeted a classroom full of ROTC students inside a business school building. The suspect, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, walked in and opened fire, killing Shah and wounding two others.

One of the injured victims is in critical condition, and the other was treated at a hospital and released.

Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk field office, said at a news conference that the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps students showed “extreme bravery and courage” and prevented further loss of life by stopping the gunman.

The students subdued him and “rendered him no longer alive,” Evans said.

The campus shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism, FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media.

News4 spoke to the father of one student who was in the classroom.

Pastor Jermaine Bego said his son told him that Jalloh came into the classroom and asked if it was an ROTC class. Then, Jalloh began shooting.

“At which time [my son] and his fellow classmates went into active protective mode to try their best to subdue the suspect,” Bego said.

Jalloh had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was on supervised release, which is comparable to probation, when he carried out the attack on Thursday. It wasn’t immediately clear why his release from prison had been moved up. Inmates can get time off of their sentences for a variety of reasons, but it isn’t known if that happened in this case.

Classes at Old Dominion University are canceled Friday as faculty and students to give students and faculty time to process and grieve.

Shah served in Iraq and Afghanistan wars

Shah enlisted in the Army in 2003, and he was deployed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Shah was awarded two bronze stars, according to his biography on ODU’s website.

Shah’s cousin, Rizwan Shah, who also served in the Army, said they were “proud to serve our country together,” NBC News reported.

The family came to the U.S. from Pakistan, Rizwan Shah said. Brandon Shah was born in the U.S. after his father immigrated to America, where he met Brandon’s mother, he said.

Rizwan Shah, who was born in Pakistan, said: “Up until this point we’ve been a great immigrant story. It’s a horrible and tragic end to his story.”

“It’s not just a loss to my family, it’s a loss to our generation,” he said. “It saddens me the way it happened, and what the news is reporting about it being another soldier makes it worse.”

Shah was commended in 2023 for increasing enrollment in the ROTC program by nearly 50% — from 95 to nearly 140 students.