Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Army National Guard member, was identified as the suspect in the Old Dominion University shooting

Mohamed Bailor Jalloh ODU Shooting Suspect

Mohamed Bailor Jalloh.Credit : 

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The suspect in the shooting at Old Dominion University has been identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh.

Jalloh, 36, opened fire at the college in Norfolk, Va., on Thursday, March 12, and killed one person and injured two others. The university confirmed in a statement that Jalloh also died.

Before the university shooting, Jalloh was a former member of the Army National Guard and was arrested in July 2016 in an FBI undercover investigation, according to a February 2017 Department of Justice news release. He had tried to buy an AK-47 in Virginia and previously said he was “thinking about conducting an attack similar to the terrorist attack” at Ft. Hood, Texas, the DOJ said. The 2009 Ft. Hood attack killed 13 people and injured 32 others.

On Oct. 27, 2016, Jalloh pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which was at the time referred to as ISIL.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison the following February, with five years of supervised release, per the DOJ. However, in December 2024, he was no longer in the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ custody, according to records viewed by PEOPLE.

Police and emergency vehicles gathered Thursday morning, on Hampton Boulevard on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. A gunman is dead and two people are injured after a shooting at Old Dominion University in Constant Hall at Old Dominion University. Old Dominion University Shooting in Norfolk, Virginia, USA - 12 Mar 2026

Old Dominion University Shooting in Norfolk, Virginia, USA – 12 Mar 2026.Kendall Warner/TNS via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

FBI director Kash Patel confirmed on X that the March 12 shooting will be investigated as an act of terrorism.

At 10:47 a.m. local time, authorities were alerted to a shooting at the school’s Constant Hall, and that “people were being shot in one of the classrooms,” Old Dominion Police Chief Garrett Shelton said at a news conference.

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Patel said that during the shooting, Jalloh had shouted “Allahu Akbar,” and was “subdued” by “a group of brave students.” Patel confirmed that Jalloh is dead, thanking the students and law enforcement for their quick action, WAVY reported.

Two people were transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where one of them died. The other is in critical condition, per the Associated Press. A third person drove themself to the Sentara Independence emergency center for treatment and has since been released, the outlet stated, citing Sentara Health.