NORFOLK, Va. — Court documents obtained by News 3 are providing new details about the investigation of the man who opened fire in an ROTC classroom on Old Dominion University's campus on March 12.
Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former member of the Virginia National Guard, was convicted in 2016 for attempting to aid the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levent (ISIL), an extremist group now known as ISIS. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was released from federal custody in Dec. 2024. He was on supervised release, which is comparable to probation.
He was released about 2 1/2 years early after completing a drug treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told The AP. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.
Recap of ODU shooting
On March 12, Jalloh shouted the common Muslim phrase "Allahu akbar" before firing in Constant Hall. ROTC instructor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah was killed and two others were injured in the shooting.The students in the classroom proceeded to subdue and kill Jalloh, according to investigators.
Watch previous coverage: ROTC instructor killed in ODU campus shooting; convicted felon used stolen gun sold for $100
Kenya Chapman is facing federal charges for allegedly selling Jalloh the gun he used during the shooting. Court documents say Chapman told agents in an interview that he stole the gun from a car in Newport News, Virginia, about a year before the shooting and recently sold it to Jalloh for $100.
Timeline prior to Jalloh's conviction
Court documents from the Eastern District of Virginia dated Oct. 27, 2016 state Jalloh had been in contact with "a prominent on-line ISIL supporter" who wanted to facilitate support for the extremist group. He met with the facilitator in Nigeria around August 2015. Jalloh would later send around $341 worth of Nigerian currency to the ISIL facilitator.
Jalloh later came in contact with Abu Saad Sudani, a now-deceased member of ISIL. Sudani brokered an introduction between Jalloh and an individual in the United States who actually was an FBI confidential human source (CHS). Sudani was actively plotting an attack in the United States and believed the attack would be carried out with the assistance of Jalloh and the CHS.
Watch related coverage: FBI leading investigation into ODU shooting
According to court documents, Jalloh met with the CHS on two occasions in April and May 2016.
During the April meeting, Jalloh told the CHS that he was a former member of the Virginia Army National Guard, but that he had decided not to re-enlist after listening to online lectures by Anwar al-Aulaqi, a deceased leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
During their meeting, Jalloh also told the CHS that he often thought about conducting an attack and that he knew how to shoot guns. Jalloh praised the gunman who killed five U.S. military members in a terrorist attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July 2015, and stated that he had been thinking about conducting an attack similar to the November 2009 attack at Ft. Hood, Texas.
During the May 2016 meeting, Jalloh asked the CHS about the timeline for an operation and commented that it was better to plan an operation for the month of Ramadan. Jalloh also asked if the CHS could assist him in providing a donation to ISIL. Ultimately, Jalloh provided a prepaid cash transfer of $500 to a contact of the CHS that Jalloh believed was a member of ISIL, but who was in fact an undercover FBI employee.
Watch related coverage: Shooter re-enrolled at ODU under Virginia law that bans criminal history questions on college applications
In June 2016, Jalloh travelled to North Carolina and made multiple unsuccessful attempts to obtain firearms. He also searched the website of a Norfolk gun store, looking for "long guns, rifles, and semi-automatics"
On July 2, Jalloh went to a gun dealership in northern Virginia, where he purchased and test-fired a Stag Arms assault rifle. Unbeknownst to Jalloh, the rifle was rendered inoperable before he left the dealership with the weapon.
Jalloh was arrested the following day and the FBI seized the rifle.
The stolen gun used at ODU
Federal prosecutors say the gun used in Jalloh's attack on March 12 was stolen, had a partially altered serial number, and was sold to him for $100.
Jalloh used a Glock 44 .22 caliber handgun to carry out the shooting, court documents show. He wasbarred from owning or possessing a firearm due to his prior conviction.
Kenya Chapman, of Smithfield, has been accused of selling Jalloh the stolen gun. Jalloh reportedly told Chapman he wanted the weapon for protection while working as a delivery driver.
Watch related: ROTC instructor killed in ODU campus shooting; convicted felon used stolen gun sold for $100
Records show the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated Chapman in 2021 for three straw purchases — a practice in which a person with a clean record buys a gun on behalf of someone, such as a felon, who is legally prohibited from doing so.
At the time, the ATF issued Chapman a warning letter, and Chapman wrote a letter of apology. No charges were filed in that case. But those charges were brought back along with a new charge for gun trafficking — the illegal sale of a stolen gun.
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