A military instructor was killed and two other people were wounded when a gunman opened fire in a US Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) classroom at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, yesterday (Thursday) before he himself was shot dead.
It was “an act of terrorism,” the FBI said.
The deceased has been identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah.
“Lt. Col. Brandon Shah was killed today in a classroom at Old Dominion University where he was teaching. A dedicated ROTC instructor, Lt. Col. Shah not only dedicated his life to serving our country, but also taught and inspired others to follow that path,” commented Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger.
The shooter was killed by ROTC students, FBI official Dominic Evans pointed out in a press release.
“There were students in that room who took control of him and killed him. I don’t know how to say it differently, but they managed to neutralize the threat (…) He was not shot,” she added, without specifying how the perpetrator was killed.
The gunman shouted “Alaahu Akbar” (God is supreme) before opening fire.
According to Evans, the shooter wanted to mimic the 2009 attack at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas. Back then, Nidal Hassan, a former U.S. Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people – including 12 military personnel – and wounded dozens of others to prevent soldiers from taking part in the U.S. war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which he considered “illegal.”
The FBI was unable to specify whether the gunman targeted ROTC students.
Authorities have clarified that the attacker was 36-year-old Mohammed Baylor Jaloh, a former member of the Virginia National Guard who in 2016 pleaded guilty to attempted support of the Islamic State. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and released in 2024.
Old Dominion University had initially reported two wounded before FBI Director Cass Patel revised the account, explaining that there was “one dead and two wounded.
“The shooter was killed thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and brought him under control, actions which, combined with the swift response of law enforcement, undoubtedly saved lives,” he added.
