FBI investigating shooting at Virginia’s Old Dominion University as terrorism
The FBI is investigating the shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, as an act of terrorism after an armed man opened fire inside a campus building, killing one person and injuring two others, according to officials. The two wounded victims are Army personnel.
The shooting happened at about 10:50 a.m. on Thursday at Constant Hall, according to university and police officials. Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said officers found the gunman dead when they arrived. An all-clear was issued at about 12:15 p.m.
Shelton said one person was killed and two others were injured. U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll confirmed the two wounded victims are Army personnel.
WAVY reported both injured victims were taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital at about 11:15 a.m. after initially being listed in critical condition.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooter was subdued by a group of students before law enforcement arrived, and said their actions “undoubtedly saved lives.”
Patel said the FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism, with the Joint Terrorism Task Force working with local authorities and providing resources for the investigation.
The suspect was identified as Mohamed Jalloh by columnist Karol Markowicz and local media reports. A Justice Department press release from July 2016 identified a Mohamed Bailor Jalloh of Sterling, Virginia, as a former Army National Guard member who was arrested on a charge of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State (ISIS).
Prosecutors said he tried to help procure weapons for what he believed would be an attack on U.S. soil carried out in the name of ISIS.
According to that case, Jalloh told an FBI confidential human source in 2016 that he had quit the National Guard after listening to lectures by Anwar al-Aulaqi, the now-deceased al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader.
Prosecutors said he also spoke about carrying out an attack, praised the gunman in the 2015 Chattanooga military recruiting center attack, and said he had thought about an attack similar to the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
Authorities have not said whether the shooting was related to the U.S. conflict with Iran or to the incident at a Michigan synagogue that also happened Thursday.
The post FBI investigating shooting at Virginia’s Old Dominion University as terrorism appeared first on BNO News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
