NORFOLK, Va. — Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was able to re-enroll at Old Dominion University after serving federal prison time for supporting ISIS because Virginia law prohibits public universities from asking applicants about their criminal history.
Jalloh, 36, shot and killed ROTC instructor Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah and wounded two others in a classroom at ODU on March 12, 2026. He was a current student at the time of the attack, enrolled in an online course for the spring 2026 semester.
Jalloh first enrolled at ODU in fall 2006 and attended through spring 2013. In October 2016, he pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. He was released from federal custody on Dec. 23, 2024, after completing a drug treatment program. He re-enrolled at ODU in summer 2025.
In a written statement to News 3, an ODU spokesperson said the university had no prior knowledge of Jalloh's criminal history.
"Old Dominion University had no knowledge of any prior criminal history for Jalloh," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Virginia law requires ODU to rely on voluntary disclosures of criminal history.
The law — House Bill 1930 — was introduced by Virginia Delegate Lashrecse Aird and took effect in January 2022. Under the law, public universities can not ask about criminal history on their own applications. Even if a student voluntarily discloses a criminal past on a third-party application, such as the Common App, the school can not use that information alone to deny them admission.
The law does include one exception: schools can withdraw an offer of admission if they later discover a criminal history that poses a threat, but only before a student enrolls. ODU said it never knew about Jalloh's criminal history, meaning that exception did not apply in his case.
In the same statement, ODU said the university will "review additional safety measures to continue strengthening campus security."
The FBI is investigating the shooting as a terror-related attack. Jalloh, a former Virginia National Guardsman, had previously been identified by the FBI as having grown radicalized while serving in the National Guard between 2009 and 2015.
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