A former Army National Guard soldier convicted of supporting ISIS has been identified as the gunman in a deadly shooting at Old Dominion University (ODU) on Thursday, reportedly shouting “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire.
The FBI said earlier it is investigating the shooting at ODU – which left one person dead and two others wounded – as an act of terrorism.
Multiple federal sources confirmed to Fox News that the suspected shooter was 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone who spent six years in the Virginia National Guard. Jalloh, who was convicted in 2017 for his involvement in supporting the Islamic State, was released approximately 15 months before the deadly shooting at the Virginia university.
“We have confirmed reports that prior to him conducting this act of terrorism, he shouted all our stated Allahu Akbar,” Special Agent in Charge Dominique Evans said in a Thursday evening news conference.
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A spokesperson with the Virginia National Guard confirmed to Fox News Digital that Jalloh served from April 30, 2009, to April 29, 2015, and he held the rank of specialist when he left with an honorable discharge.
He served in the 276th Engineer Battalion, 91st Troop Command as a combat engineer, they said.
In 2017, Jalloh was sentenced to 11 years in prison plus five years supervised release for attempting to provide material support to ISIS, according to the Department of Justice. He was released from prison in Dec. 2024.
READ THE COMPLAINT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE
He was originally arrested on July 3, 2016, after authorities said he tried to help procure weapons for what he believed would be an ISIS-inspired attack on U.S. soil and separately attempted to send money to support ISIS, according to the criminal complaint.
The DOJ said he was compelled to leave the U.S. military after he began listening to the online lectures of Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, adding that Jalloh “praised” the July 2015 terrorist attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when a gunman killed four U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor.
Jalloh also shared that he had been thinking about conducting an attack similar to the attack at Ft. Hood, Texas, in Nov. 2009, which killed 13 people and wounded 32 others.
In a letter asking for a judge for leniency, Jalloh shared his self-proclaimed love for America, writing: “I have and have always had deep respect and still have respect for the American people and the American values that I pledged to serve.”
“I reject and deplore terrorism and any groups associated with it, especially ISIL. I hate how I allowed myself to be manipulated and how ISIL manipulates troubled and impressionable people like me with their religious propaganda by appealing to Islamic solidarity and a skewed interpretation of selective verses from the Quran. I feel like a complete idiot for accepting such a superficial and dishonest interpretation of Islam, and for blindly accepting what I was being told,” he wrote.
“I will make it my life’s mission to telling [sic] the truth about ISIL and all Islamic terrorists, and to prevent other troubled young men from falling prey to their propaganda like I did. I love the United States of America. I have always been grateful to this nation for what it has done for me and my family.”
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In the letter, Jalloh shared that he attended college at Old Dominion University and joined the National Guard as a “way of contributing and helping protect” the U.S.
“Since I first came to the United States, I have loved this country deeply for saving me and my family, and for giving me so many opportunities that I would not have otherwise…. I always felt a desire to give back [so] not long after I started college at Old Dominion, I joined the Virginia Army National Guard as a way of contributing and helping protect this great country and see it prosper. Since I was young, I had been inspired by seeing soldiers in uniform and believed in the noble purpose of the military. I wanted to be part of that and to give back. I wanted to be a good soldier and make my family proud.”
The Justice Department in 2017 requested a 20-year prison sentence for Jalloh, noting that he had made multiple attempts to join the Islamic State and had attempted to acquire a gun to carry out a murder plot in the United States.
“The defendant was fully aware of what he was doing, and the consequences of those actions. His only misgivings seemed to be a fear that he would waver at the critical moment,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
“By putting the idea of this murder plot into religious terms, and by suggesting that murdering members of the US military would be a path to heaven, the defendant showed how strongly committed he was to the deadly ideology” of the Islamic State.
U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, sentenced him to 11 years in prison.
In a statement on social media, FBI Director Kash Patel said that the agency is “now investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.”
“Earlier today, an armed individual opened fire at Old Dominion University, leaving one person dead and two others wounded. 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,” Patel said.
“The FBI is now investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism. Our Joint Terrorism Task Force is fully engaged, embedded with local authorities, and providing all resources necessary in the investigation. In the meantime, please pray for the victims, their families, and the ODU community.”
