Who was Mohamed Bailor Jalloh? Old Dominion University shooter shouted 'Allahu Akbar' before opening fire - All about former Army National Guard soldier who spent 7 years in prison for helping ISIS

Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was a former member of the Army National Guard who carried out a deadly shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday (March 12). Authorities said the 36-year-old gunman entered a classroom and shouted 'Allahu Akbar' before opening fire on people connected to the university’s ROTC program. The attack left one person dead and two others injured before students subdued and killed the shooter. The FBI is now investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism, according to Director Kash Patel.


According to AP, two victims were taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where one later died and the other remains in critical condition. A third individual arrived in a personal vehicle at the Sentara Independence Emergency Center and was treated and later released, reported AP citing Sentara Health.


Dominique Evans, Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk FBI Field Office, said in media briefing that Jalloh shouted 'Allahu Akbar' before opening fire inside a classroom at Old Dominion University on Thursday morning.

"I don’t know how else to say it, but they basically were able to terminate the threat,” Evans said during a news conference.


Jalloh was a naturalized US citizen originally from Sierra Leone and had previously served in the Virginia National Guard from 2009 to 2016. According to the FBI, the former member of the Virginia National Guard had a criminal record dating back to 2016. The US Department of Justice said he was later sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2017 followed by five years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to the extremist group Islamic State.


Authorities first arrested him in July 2016 after investigators alleged he tried to help obtain weapons for a suspected ISIS-inspired attack in the United States. Prosecutors also said that, in a separate incident, he attempted to send money to support the group, according to a criminal complaint.