Recently disclosed independent investigation of a deadly terrorist attack that occurred in March at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Virginia revealed that no institution had issued warning to the school: the shooter, a returning student, had been convicted for attempting to support the terrorist organization ISIS.
On March 12th, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh shouted “Allahu Akbar” and opened fire in an ROTC classroom at ODU, resulting in the death of a retired Army instructor and injury of two students before being subdued by ROTC members.
In 2016, Jalloh was convicted of providing material support to ISIS to plan attacks on U.S. military personnel.
However, according to an investigation report commissioned by ODU, neither the federal probation officer, FBI, nor any Virginia or federal agency had informed ODU of Jalloh’s conviction.
ODU stated that Virginia law restricts universities from reviewing criminal records of students applying for admission, and there was no notification from federal agencies.
The independent report stated, “If ODU had known about Jalloh’s criminal record, they likely would have sought to remove him from campus due to the risk he posed, especially to individuals affiliated with the military.”
The FBI told Fox News on Thursday, July 30th, that it is not responsible for notifying universities of individuals’ criminal records, indicating it is a joint responsibility of state, local, federal, and community partners.
The FBI also noted that the Department of Justice extensively publicized Jalloh’s terrorism-related convictions in 2016 and 2017, with at least three press releases detailing his case that are still available on the DOJ website.
The FBI added that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia issued multiple press releases and public messages, including one in 2017 when Jalloh was sentenced for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
ODU mentioned that based on a law enacted in Virginia in 2022, public universities are prohibited from inquiring about applicants’ criminal records during the admission process. Therefore, the school removed questions about criminal records from the application form, relying on voluntary disclosure by students or notifications from external law enforcement agencies.
During Jalloh’s federal supervised release, his probation officer had the authority to require him to disclose his criminal record to third parties.
The investigation report noted, “Given Virginia law requires universities to depend on self-disclosure by students, other law enforcement agencies should ensure that universities have the necessary information to protect students. This major oversight resulted in tragic consequences.”
Jalloh himself had never voluntarily disclosed his 2016 conviction to ODU.
In fact, Virginia law permits public universities to inquire about criminal records after admission, but at that time, ODU’s policy was to only send background check questionnaires to incoming freshmen, not to re-entry students like Jalloh.
Jalloh first enrolled at ODU as an undergraduate in 2007, was suspended in 2010 due to academic issues, and returned in 2011 after completing National Guard service. He briefly attended classes in the spring of 2012, then stopped studying for unknown reasons and was convicted on federal terrorism charges in 2016. He was released from prison in December 2024 after serving an eight-year sentence, reapplied as a returning student, and re-registered at ODU in 2025.
Following the exposure of the flaws in post-admission review policies due to the Jalloh case, ODU has officially expanded the scope of criminal record checks after admission to include both re-entry students and incoming freshmen.
(References: FOX NEWS)