Man Charged After Selling Gun to Old Dominion University Shooter
By ObxLedger
Published Mar 14, 2026
4 min read
NORFOLK, Va. — Federal authorities have charged a Virginia man accused of illegally selling a firearm to the gunman behind Thursday’s deadly shooting at Old Dominion University, an attack that left one person dead and two others injured.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that Kenya Chapman faces federal charges after investigators say he sold a handgun to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, the man responsible for opening fire inside a classroom at the Norfolk university.
Authorities say Jalloh, a former Virginia Army National Guard specialist, entered a classroom Thursday and began shooting while shouting “Allahu akbar.” The attack killed Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, a professor of military science and leader in the university’s Army ROTC program. Two other people were wounded.
Investigators say the situation could have been far worse if not for the actions of ROTC students who confronted Jalloh during the attack. FBI officials praised the students for stopping the gunman and preventing additional casualties. Authorities have not publicly detailed how the students subdued him but confirmed he was not shot.
According to federal court documents, Chapman told investigators he had stolen the handgun from a vehicle in Newport News about a year before the shooting. Authorities say he later sold the gun to Jalloh after the two met while working together.
Chapman told agents that Jalloh said he needed the firearm for protection while working as a delivery driver. Although Chapman acknowledged he knew Jalloh had previously spent time in prison, he told investigators he did not know Jalloh was a convicted felon who was legally barred from possessing firearms.
Investigators also revealed that the weapon used in the attack had an obliterated serial number, making it more difficult to trace. Law enforcement officials say forensic techniques may still allow the number to be recovered.
Chapman told investigators he had no knowledge that Jalloh planned to commit a violent attack, according to the affidavit.
Jalloh’s background has raised additional questions for investigators. The naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone previously pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide support to the Islamic State extremist group. He was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.
Jalloh was released from federal custody in December 2024 and placed on supervised release, which functions similarly to probation.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Jalloh was released about two and a half years early after completing a drug treatment program. It remains unclear how he qualified for the program, as inmates convicted of terrorism-related offenses are typically ineligible for certain sentence reductions.
Officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons have not publicly addressed questions about the circumstances surrounding his release.
The victim killed in the attack, Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, was a 42-year-old Army officer from Chesapeake who had returned to Old Dominion University in 2022 to lead the ROTC program. Shah had previously attended ODU as an ROTC student before serving in the Army, where he piloted helicopters over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe.
The U.S. Army Cadet Command confirmed that three members of the ROTC program were injured during the incident, including Shah, who later died. He leaves behind a spouse and a child.
“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 University President Brian Hemphill said in a statement to the campus community.
On Friday morning, friends and colleagues gathered across from Constant Hall to remember Shah. One of those friends, Eddie Flack, poured a bottle of whiskey onto the lawn beneath the campus flagpoles in tribute.
“I love you Brandon. Rest well with the creator. I love you,” Flack said as he looked toward the sky.
Fighting back tears, he added, “Sorry Brandon. The world needs more love. We need to spread more love and not this hatred.”
Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing as federal agents work to determine the full sequence of events leading up to the attack and how Jalloh ultimately obtained the firearm.
Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said less than ten minutes passed between the initial report of gunfire inside the university’s business school building and the moment responders determined the shooter had been stopped.
FBI Norfolk Special Agent in Charge Dominique Evans urged anyone who may have information about the case to contact authorities, saying that no detail is too small as investigators continue to piece together what happened.
