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The Virginia university where a student with a prior ISIS-related conviction carried out a deadly terror attack in March said federal officials did not notify the school about his criminal history before he was re-enrolled as a returning student.
On March 12, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh reportedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire inside an ROTC classroom at Old Dominion University (ODU), killing an Army veteran instructor and injuring two students before ROTC members fatally subdued him.
Jalloh was previously convicted in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State terror group in connection with a plot to target U.S. military personnel.
However, neither his federal probation officer, the FBI, nor any state or federal agency notified ODU of his conviction, the university said.
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Mohamed Bailor Jalloh served in the Army National Guard before carrying out the March 12, 2026, shooting at Old Dominion University. (The Intercept)
“Had ODU known about Jalloh’s criminal history, it is highly likely that ODU would have sought his removal from campus due to the risk he posed, particularly to military-affiliated individuals,” the independent report said.
The FBI told Digital on Thursday that it is not the agency responsible for notifying colleges.
“The FBI does not serve as a notification authority for colleges or universities regarding an individual’s criminal history – that is a shared responsibility across state, local, federal and community partners,” the FBI said.
Additionally, the bureau noted that Jalloh’s terrorism-related convictions were widely publicized by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017, with at least three press releases detailing his case still available on the agency’s website.
“Furthermore, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia issued several press releases and publicly available information, including a press release when Jalloh was sentenced in 2017 for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization,” the agency said. “The release remains on the Department of Justice website, and can be found through an internet search with multiple links available.”
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ODU said that under Virginia law enacted in 2022, public universities are prohibited from asking applicants about their criminal history during the admissions process.
In compliance with the law, ODU said it removed criminal history questions from its applications, leaving the university dependent on voluntary student disclosures or outside law enforcement notifications.
Under Jalloh’s federal supervised release, his probation officer reportedly had the authority to require him to disclose his criminal record to third parties.
However, no such notification was provided to any university office or campus police, according to the report.
“Given that Virginia law requires universities to rely on student self-disclosure, it is even more important that other law enforcement agencies ensure that information that universities need to know to safeguard their students is shared with universities. This critical failure led to tragic consequences here,” the ODU report said.
Jalloh also never voluntarily disclosed his 2016 federal terrorism conviction to ODU, according to the report.
Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was identified as the shooter at Old Dominion University on Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo)
While Virginia law allows public universities to inquire about criminal history after an applicant is admitted, ODU’s policy at the time only sent post-admission background questionnaires to first-time students, excluding readmitted returning students such as Jalloh.
According to the campus report, Jalloh first enrolled at ODU as an undergraduate student in 2007. After being academically suspended in 2010, he was readmitted in 2011 following service in the Army National Guard. He briefly took classes through Spring 2012 before stopping for unknown reasons, and was later convicted on federal terrorism charges in 2016.
He then served eight years in prison before being released in December 2024. Afterwards, Jalloh applied for readmission as a returning student and was re-enrolled at ODU in 2025.
After Jalloh’s case exposed a gap in the university’s post-admission screening policies, ODU said it officially expanded its post-admission criminal history questionnaire to include readmitted students alongside first-time students.
Lt. Col. Brandon Shah was identified as the instructor killed in the deadly shooting at Old Dominion University on March 12. (Old Dominion University)
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Additionally, the report said nothing else on Jalloh’s readmission application raised any concerns.
Jalloh’s application reportedly listed a private residential address in Sterling, Virginia, rather than a federal prison address. Two professors who taught him in the months before the attack also reported no behavioral concerns.
The United States Probation and Pretrial Services Eastern District of Virginia did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Digital.
