Virginia flags will fly at half-staff tomorrow (Saturday) in honor of Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, the ROTC instructor killed in a shooting at Old Dominion University on Thursday that the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger ordered flags on all state and local buildings lowered from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, citing Shah’s “decades of devoted and selfless service to his community, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the United States of America.”
Spanberger earlier called Shah “a devoted ROTC instructor” who “didn’t just lead a life of service to our country, he taught and led others to follow that path.”
Shah, a 42-year-old from Chesapeake, was a professor of military science at ODU’s Army ROTC program. He attended ODU as an ROTC student and returned in 2022 as a leader for the program. In the Army, Shah had flown helicopters over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe as a pilot, according to the Associated Press.
“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,” ODU President Brian Hemphill said Friday. Shah leaves behind a spouse and a child, according to the U.S. Army Cadet Command.
The gunman, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, of Sterling, opened fire in a classroom at ODU’s Constant Hall on Thursday morning after yelling “Allahu Akbar,” according to the FBI. He twice asked those in the room to confirm it was an ROTC event before he began to shoot, according to a federal affidavit.
ROTC students subdued and killed Jalloh. Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk field office, said the students showed “extreme bravery and courage” and prevented further loss of life. Less than 10 minutes passed between the first 911 call and responders confirming the shooter was dead, according to ODU’s police chief.
Two other people were wounded. One was upgraded from critical to fair condition on Friday, according to Sentara Health. The other was treated and released.
Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone and former Virginia Army National Guard member, had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison but was released from federal custody in December 2024 — about two and a half years early — after completing a drug treatment program, the AP reported.
It wasn’t clear how Jalloh qualified for the program. Inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically aren’t eligible for such programs or other sentence-reducing credits, according to the AP.
Jalloh was on supervised release, comparable to probation, at the time of the attack. He had re-enrolled at ODU in the summer of 2025 and was taking online classes at the time of the shooting, the university said.
On Friday, the Justice Department charged Kenya Chapman with federal firearms offenses in connection with the sale of a gun to Jalloh. Chapman told agents he stole the gun from a car in Newport News about a year before the shooting and recently sold it to Jalloh, who told him he needed it for protection as a delivery driver, according to court papers. Chapman said he knew Jalloh had spent time behind bars but denied knowing he had a felony conviction, according to the AP.
The gun’s serial number was partially obliterated, complicating efforts to trace the weapon. Federal authorities had previously investigated Chapman in 2021 for straw purchases and issued him a warning letter at the time.
