Justice Department charges man for selling gun to Old Dominion University shooter

On Friday, the Justice Department charged a man accused of selling a gun to the shooter at Old Dominion University, despite the gunman’s prior conviction in a terrorism case.

Kenya Chapman is facing federal charges in connection to the sale of the weapon to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Army National Guard member who yelled "Allahu akbar" before he opened fire in a classroom at the Virginia school on Thursday, according to authorities, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

One person was killed and two others were injured in the shooting.

Jalloh was barred from possessing a gun given a previous felony conviction for attempting to aid the Islamic State extremist group.

Chapman told 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. Chapman said he met Jalloh at work and that Jalloh told him he needed the gun for protection as a delivery driver, according to court papers. Chapman told agents he knew Jalloh had spent some time behind bars but denied knowing he had a previous felony conviction.

Chapman told agents he had no idea the man would commit the attack, the affidavit says.

Earlier Friday, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Jalloh used a gun with an obliterated serial number, potentially complicating investigators' efforts to determine how he obtained a firearm.

The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation, said investigators would have to re-surface the number in order to trace the gun.

Jalloh was a former Army National Guard member who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State extremist group.

The investigation continues

Jalloh, who yelled "Allahu akbar" before opening fire, 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, and left two others hurt.

One of them, who was hospitalized in critical condition, has 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.

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.

At a news conference Thursday, a reporter asked the special agent in charge of the FBI's Norfolk field office, Dominique Evans, if there was a mention of the ongoing war in Iran. "None whatsoever," she replied. The U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.

The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State group. And on Thursday, a man of Lebanese origin was fatally shot after driving his vehicle into a Detroit-area synagogue in what the FBI called a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community."

Evans on Thursday also requested the public's help as authorities continue to investigate the shooting and Jalloh, 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 injured, including one who died.

ROTC is a program where students receive a scholarship to attend college while training to become commissioned officers in the U.S. military.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli