One dead in US campus shooting linked to Islamic State supporter

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - The FBI is investigating the fatal shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia as an act of terrorism after the gunman was subdued by students. — Reuters pic

WASHINGTON, March 13 — One person was killed and two others injured yesterday when a gunman who supported the Islamic State extremist group opened fire at Old Dominion University in Virginia, US authorities said.

In addition to the victim fatality, the assailant also died in the incident, which the FBI said was being investigated as “an act of terrorism.”

The shooting occurred in a building on the campus in the city of Norfolk, Virginia, south of the US capital Washington.

“The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him — actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said in a statement posted on X.

“The FBI is now investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.”

At a subsequent press conference, the suspected attacker was identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former member of the National Guard who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.

Jalloh was sentenced to prison in 2017 and was released in 2024.

Yesterday, “prior to this act of terrorism he shouted — he stated ‘Allahu akbar’ (‘God is the greatest’),” Special Agent Dominique Evans of the FBI’s Norfolk field office told reporters.

The suspect “wanted to conduct a terrorist attack, similar to that in Fort Hood, Texas,” Evans said, referring to a 2009 mass shooting carried out by a US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and injured more than 30 others.

That shooter, Nidal Hasan, had reportedly exhibited signs of radicalization, and he too shouted “Allahu akbar” before beginning his killing spree.

Evans, responding to a reporter’s question, said the suspect at Old Dominion made no mention of Iran, the country currently at war with the United States and Israel, during his attack.

All three shooting victims were members of ROTC, the college-based Reserve Officers’ Training Corps that trains students to become commissioned officers in the US military.

Evans did not say whether the victims were targeted because they were part of ROTC, but hailed students for their rapid response.

“There were students that were in that room that subdued him and rendered him no longer alive,” she said. Evans noted the suspect was not shot, but she did not provide details on how he died.

“The brave ROTC members in that room subdued him and if not for them I’m not sure what else he may have done,” she said.

Old Dominion University said in a statement that police and emergency personnel “responded immediately” to the attack and that “the gunman is now deceased.”

School shootings are a shockingly regular occurrence in the United States, where guns outnumber people and regulations on purchasing even powerful military-style rifles are lax. — AFP