Embellished Veteran Recognized As Sufferer Of ODU Campus Taking pictures
The victim who was fatally shot and killed by an ISIS-supporting gunman on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday has been identified as Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah.
Shah was a professor of Military Science and the university’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. He was shot and killed after the gunman — who was previously convicted of providing material support to ISIS — reportedly entered a classroom and asked for the ROTC instructor.
Shah was a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Operation Atlantic Resolve, an initiative launched after the initial Russian incursion into Ukraine in 2014.
His awards included two Bronze Stars, Senior Army Aviator Badge, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Valor, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and the Joint Service Achievement Medal.
The victim of the terrorist attack at Old Dominion has been identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah– who was a Professor of Military Science and the leader of the university’s ROTC program.
He was a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Atlantic… pic.twitter.com/79pfI4UwLG
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 12, 2026
The decorated veteran was killed when the gunman, identified as Mohamed Jollah, entered a classroom hosting an Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) class and opened fire after yelling “Allahu Akbar.”
The shooter was subdued and killed by a group of ROTC students in the classroom, who displayed “extreme bravery and courage” and prevented further loss of life, FBI Special Agent Dominique Evans said during a press conference.
“The ROTC students subdued him and ‘rendered him no longer alive,’ Evans said. ‘I don’t know how else to say it.’”
Evans further explained that the students managed to subdue and kill the attacker without using a firearm. ODU Police Chief Garrett Shelton noted that officers arrived and determined the shooter was dead within less than 10 minutes of the initial call. He did not provide further details on the exact cause of death and stressed that the investigation remains ongoing.
Jollah — a naturalized U.S. citizen by way of the West African nation of Sierra Leone — was a former specialist in the Virginia Army National Guard.
In 2016, at age 26, Jalloh pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State (ISIS, also known as ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. According to a 2016 FBI affidavit, he quit the National Guard after being influenced by lectures from radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
He then traveled to Africa, made contact with ISIS members in Nigeria, and attempted to join the group, including boarding a truck toward Libya before backing out. Jalloh discussed conducting a “Fort Hood-style” attack (referencing the 2009 shooting that killed 13 people) with an FBI informant during a three-month sting operation.
He attempted to donate $500 an FBI undercover agent he believed was an ISIS contact and tried to purchase an AR-15 assault rifle but was initially turned away due to paperwork issues. He then purchased a different assault rifle, which was rendered inoperable by the store, and was arrested a day later.
Jollah during his time with the National Guard
“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. By putting the idea of this murder plot into religious terms, and by suggesting that murdering members of the U.S. military would be a path to heaven, the defendant showed how strongly committed he was to the deadly ideology of the Islamic State,” prosecutors noted in court documents at the time.
The Justice Department sought a 20-year sentence, but U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady imposed 11 years. Jalloh was released from federal custody in December 2024 and was on supervised release at the time of the shooting.
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