University Shooting Probed as Act of Terrorism

Fifteen months after walking out of prison, a man once convicted of trying to aid ISIS carried out a deadly shooting now being probed as terrorism at Old Dominion University, authorities say. Federal authorities have identified the shooter who killed one person and injured two others at the Virginia school Thursday as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the extremist group, the AP reports. The 36-year-old, a naturalized US citizen from Sierra Leone and former Virginia Army National Guard member, was also killed in the incident. Authorities haven't disclosed how he died.

"The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him—actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X. Patel said the bureau is treating Thursday's attack on the Norfolk campus as an act of terrorism and that its Joint Terrorism Task Force is working with local authorities. Officials say Jalloh targeted an ROTC class, reports NBC News,

Jalloh was arrested in 2016 after he told a government informant posing as an ISIS operative he was considering a mass shooting like the 2009 Fort Hood attack that left 13 dead. In 2017, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Prosecutors said he tried to help acquire weapons for what he believed would be an ISIS-inspired attack in the US and separately attempted to send money to the group, Fox News reports. He was released in December 2024.

• Court documents from the case said Jalloh left the National Guard after becoming influenced by online lectures from Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born cleric linked to al-Qaeda. CBS News reports that during his sentencing hearing in 2017, he apologized to the people of the US and claimed he was disgusted by ISIS. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but this mistake of giving any support to the violent and extreme organization ISIS has been the most devastating one I have ever decided to make in my life," he told US District Judge Liam O'Grady.