Justice Department charges man accused of selling gun to Old Dominion
University shooter
[March 14, 2026]
By ALLEN G. BREED, MICHAEL R, SISAK and ALANNA DURKIN
RICHER
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A man was charged Friday with selling a stolen gun
to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard who
used it to kill one person and wound two others at Old Dominion
University, federal authorities said.
The charges come a day after the attack by Jalloh, who had previously
spent eight years in prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State
group. Authorities say Jalloh yelled “Allahu akbar” before opening fire
in a classroom at the Virginia school and being killed by ROTC students.
The shooting happened in a class attended by active duty servicemembers
and ROTC students, according to court papers. Jalloh twice asked those
in the room to confirm that it was an ROTC event before he began to
shoot, the document says. Jalloh was taking online classes at the
university at the time of the shooting.
ROTC students receive a scholarship to attend college while training to
become commissioned officers in the U.S. military.
Shooter told colleague he needed a gun for protection
The man charged Friday, Kenya Chapman, told federal agents in an
interview that he stole the gun from a car in Newport News, Virginia,
about a year before the shooting and recently sold it to Jalloh,
according to an affidavit filed in court. Chapman said he met Jalloh at
work and that Jalloh told him he needed the gun for protection as a
delivery driver, the affidavit says.
Chapman said he knew Jalloh had spent some time behind bars but denied
knowing he had a previous felony conviction, which made it illegal for
Jalloh to possess a firearm. He told agents he had no idea Jalloh would
commit the attack, the affidavit says.
Chapman is charged with making a false statement during a firearm
purchase and engaging in the business of firearms dealing without a
license. Chapman's attorneys declined to comment Friday.
“Chapman allegedly stole a firearm and illegally sold it to a convicted
terrorist, who murdered a decorated American veteran, and he will
finally face the full weight of justice,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General
Todd Blanche said in a social media post.
The gun’s serial number was partially obliterated, complicating
authorities’ efforts to trace the firearm. But authorities ultimately
found Chapman through phone records showing multiple calls between him
and Jalloh in the week prior to the shooting, according to the
affidavit.
Federal authorities had previously investigated Chapman in 2021 for
straw purchases, when someone buys a gun for a person who can’t get it
legally themselves. He was issued a “straw purchaser warning letter” and
he wrote a letter of apology after admitting to the straw purchases in
2021, according to the document.
The case was presented to the U.S. attorney at the time but the office
declined to prosecute, according to the Justice Department.
Shooter was released early from federal prison
Jalloh was subdued and killed by ROTC students, according to FBI
officials who praised the students' bravery for preventing further harm.
The shooting killed an ROTC leader who was a professor of military
science at ODU.
One of the people wounded was hospitalized in critical condition but has
since been upgraded to fair condition, according to Sentara Health. The
other was treated and released.
Jalloh, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in the Islamic State
group case, was released from federal custody in December 2024. He was
on supervised release, which is comparable to probation.
He was released about 2 1/2 years early after completing a drug
treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told the AP. The
person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of
anonymity.
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This photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Maj. Brandon Shah,
Friday, Jan. 14, 2020, in Illesheim, Germany. (Pfc. Savannah
Roy/U.S. Army/DVIDS via AP)
It wasn’t clear how Jalloh qualified for the program, which allows
inmates to shave up to a year off their sentences. Inmates serving
sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically aren’t eligible
for such programs or other sentence-reducing credits.
A message seeking information about Jalloh’s incarceration and
release was left with the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Authorities dig for more details
At a news conference Thursday, a reporter asked the special agent in
charge of the FBI’s Norfolk field office, Dominique Evans, if Jalloh
had mentioned the ongoing war in Iran, and Evans said there was no
mention “whatsoever." The U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran
with missile strikes on Feb. 28.
Evans on Thursday also requested the public's help in the
investigation, saying no detail is too small.
Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said less than
10 minutes passed between when officers were called about a shooting
in the university’s business school building and when responders
determined the shooter was dead. Authorities have not said exactly
how the ROTC students killed Jalloh, though Evans said they did not
shoot him.
The U.S. Army Cadet Command has said on social media that three
members of the U.S. Army ROTC program at Old Dominion were wounded,
including one who died.
Jalloh also had served. The naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra
Leone was a specialist with the Virginia Army National Guard from
2009 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged.
Slain instructor remembered as family man, leader, protector
The man killed was Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, a 42-year-old from
Chesapeake who leaves behind a spouse and a child, the U.S. Army
Cadet Command said in a social media post.
Shah attended ODU as an ROTC student, according to his biography on
the university’s website, and had returned in 2022 as a leader for
the program. In the Army, Shah piloted helicopters over Iraq,
Afghanistan and Eastern Europe.
“Above all else, Lt. Col. Shah embodied what it means to be a
devoted family man, a revered leader, and heroic protector even in
his final moments,” Old Dominion President Brian Hemphill said in a
Friday message to the university community.
On campus Friday morning, in honor of his close friend Shah, Eddie
Flack poured out a bottle of Wild Turkey on a lawn across from
Constant Hall. Flack, also of Chesapeake, said the two became firm
friends while enrolled at ODU.
“I love you Brandon. Rest well with the creator. I love you,” Flack
said as he poured out the whiskey and looked up at the sky.
“Sorry Brandon. The world needs more love,” Flack said, weeping. “We
need to spread more love and not this hatred."
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