ROTC students subdue Old Dominion gunman; shooting investigated as terrorism
Old Dominion ROTC students subdued a gunman who killed a University of Virginia professor, police said.
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On Thursday, March 12, a group of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students were credited with stopping a mass shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia that left one person dead and two injured.
Dominic Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk field office, said a group of ROTC students overpowered and killed the suspect who opened fire in a classroom inside Constant Hall, USA TODAY previously reported. Authorities have not yet revealed how the gunman was killed.
The suspect was later identified as 36-year-old former Army National Guardsman Mohamed Beiler Jallow, who in 2016 pleaded guilty to federal charges of providing material support to the Islamic State.
‘Brave’ ROTC members praised for their actions
Mr Evans praised the students’ “extreme bravery and bravery” at a press conference.
“The students in the room overpowered him and made him unable to survive any longer,” Evans said. “I don’t know how else to put it, but basically they were able to end the threat.” She did not provide details of the incident, but said the suspect was not shot.
“The brave ROTC members in that room subdued him, and if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what else he would have done,” she added.
FBI Director Kash Patel also praised the students in a post on X, saying their actions “along with the swift response of law enforcement undoubtedly saved lives.”
Old Dominion University shooting leaves 1 dead, 2 injured
According to federal authorities, the suspect entered an ROTC classroom on the morning of March 12, shouted “Allah Akbar” and opened fire. Three people were injured, one of whom later died in hospital.
In a statement on social media, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger identified the victim as Lt. Col. Brandon Scharr and said he was killed in a classroom. Mr. Shah was an ROTC military science professor at the university and a military veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and received multiple awards, including two Bronze Stars.
Authorities have not yet confirmed a motive for the shooting, but Patel said in a statement on X that the incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is working with local authorities on the investigation.
Jarreau is a former Army National Guard member. A native of Sierra Leone and a naturalized U.S. citizen, he joined the Virginia Army National Guard at age 19 and was honorably discharged after six years of service, Jarrow’s attorneys wrote in a court filing.
He was arrested in 2016 and pleaded guilty to “attempting to provide material support to ISIS,” according to the FBI. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2017 and released in 2024.
