NORFOLK, Va. — An ODU alumnus and decorated combat veteran, Shah was shot and killed while teaching in his classroom on March 12.
A Norfolk neighbor who talked to Old Dominion University ROTC commander Lieutenant Colonel Brandon A. Shah only once is honoring his memory. She created a memorial outside of Constant Hall, where Shah was shot and killed while teaching in his classroom on March 12, 2026.
Lisa Suhay, who lives just down the street from campus, set up flowers wrapped in caution tape, a note and candles out front of Constant Hall to honor Shah.
"He was a big smile," Suhay said.
Shah was an ODU alumnus who enrolled at the university in 2005, received his Army commission, and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. He returned to ODU in 2022 to lead the Army ROTC Monarch Battalion as Professor of Military Science and Department Chair.
Before returning to ODU, Shah served as Director of Operations for the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade in Savannah, Georgia. He flew an AH-64 Apache during Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Atlantic Resolve over Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe, logging more than 1,200 hours — 600 of them on combat missions.
In 2023, Shah was named to the ODU Alumni Association's 40 Under 40 Class.
Suhay said Shah and his cadets would run past her house during ROTC training, and that a single 15-minute conversation with him left a lasting impression.
"There are people that you meet once, and they change the way you feel. We sat out in front of my house and talked as the students were completing their run," Suhay said.
She described Shah as an encouraging presence for his cadets during those runs.
"He'd come out to the finish line and he was just, you could just see him encouraging them. He wasn't barking orders. He wasn't making someone feel bad for having a slow time. He was making sure that every single runner made it to the line, that they knew they had accomplished a goal," Suhay said.
Suhay said it was clear Shah's military career was about more than personal accolades.
"He was serving his country beyond being on a battlefield. He was going to be passing on to another generation," Suhay said.
ODU President Brian O. Hemphill echoed that sentiment in a letter to the campus community, describing Shah as "a devoted family man, a revered leader, and heroic protector even in his final moments."
During his first year leading the Monarch Battalion, Shah oversaw a nearly 50% increase in enrollment. He took pride in watching his students transform, in his words, "when they turn from being a student into being a soldier-leader."
The memorial Suhay set up carries a message for those who knew Shah and for those who will never get the chance to meet him.
"I have a flag in front of my house that he liked when he was there. And it said 'In a world where you can be anything, be kind,'" Suhay said.
Suhay said after only having a 15-minute conversation with him, she could tell he led his life with kindness.
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