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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: A mass shooting at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Virginia left two people dead, including the gunman, and two others injured. The attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Shooter Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former National Guardsman convicted in 2015 for supporting the Islamic State (ISIS), and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) students who subdued him. Victim Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah, a veteran Army helicopter pilot, was killed in the attack.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The shooting occurred on Thursday at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
💬KEY QUOTE: “This is not an ODU problem. This is a national sickness. We live in a country where people care more about guns than they care about six-year-old children.” – Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi
🎯IMPACT: Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi is blaming pro-gun advocates for the shooting, deflecting from the likely Islamist motivations of the shooter.
IN FULL
Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi, a George Soros-backed prosecutor, is facing backlash after attributing a deadly shooting at Old Dominion University (ODU) to pro-gun advocacy rather than the attacker’s background as an Islamic State (ISIS) supporter. Speaking at a press conference, Fatehi framed the incident as part of a broader national issue. “This is not an ODU problem. This is a national sickness. We live in a country where people care more about guns than they care about six-year-old children,” he said. He also criticized lawmakers and the courts, condemning what he called “the cult of gun absolutism.”
Authorities identified the gunman as 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Virginia National Guardsman and naturalized immigrant originally from Sierra Leone. Jalloh had previously been convicted in 2016 for attempting to provide material support to ISIS and received an 11-year federal prison sentence. However, he was released in 2024 after serving nine years.
Investigators say Jalloh opened fire during an ROTC class inside Constant Hall on ODU’s Norfolk campus. The attack left Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah dead. Shah, a decorated Army helicopter pilot who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe, returned to ODU in 2022 to lead the school’s military science program.
Several ROTC cadets intervened and subdued the gunman during the attack, preventing further casualties. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism and praised the “extreme bravery and courage” of the cadets who confronted the attacker. FBI spokesman Dominique Evans also commended the students, stating, “They rendered him no longer alive. I don’t know how else to say it.”
Fatehi defended his comments, saying, “I absolutely stand by what I said. It is the truth, no matter how much the gun lobby wants to deny it.” Addressing the suspect’s extremist ties, he added that “no matter the ideology of an attacker, that attacker is more dangerous with a gun than without one.”
Fatehi’s campaign has received substantial backing from political action committees (PACs) linked to far-left billionaire George Soros, totaling more than $650,000 in support between 2021 and 2025. Soros-backed prosecutors across the United States have drawn scrutiny from critics who argue their policies prioritize progressive criminal-justice reforms over traditional prosecution.
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