Old Dominion terrorist Mohamed Bailor Jalloh had previously been serving time in federal prison for his role in helping plan a brutal attack against the United States, but records show he was released a lot earlier than expected.
The 36-year-old ISIS-linked extremist — who was shot dead after opening fire at the Virginia university on Thursday — had been released from federal custody on Dec. 23, 2024, after serving nearly eight years of his 11-year prison sentence. Jalloh, a former member of the Virginia National Guard, was originally sentenced in 2017 after admitting that he had provided material support to the Islamic State to plan a heinous attack against the United States.
Career Terrorist
"Jalloh claimed to know how to shoot guns and praised the gunman who killed five U.S. military members in a terrorist attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July 2015," federal prosecutors wrote. "Jalloh also stated he had been thinking about conducting an attack similar to the terrorist attack at Ft. Hood, Texas, in November 2009, which killed 13 people and wounded 32 others."
Federal authorities began investigating Jalloh — a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Sierra Leone — after he made contact with members of the Islamic State during a six-month stay in Africa in early 2016.
He later told an FBI informant that the militant group had asked whether he was willing to take part in an attack, according to officials.
Prosecutors from the United States Department of Justice said Jalloh also suggested that carrying out an attack during the month of Ramadan would be preferable, describing it as "100 percent the right thing." This year's Ramadan is set to end next week.
Enemy of the Nation
After returning to the United States, Jalloh tried and failed to buy firearms in North Carolina. He later visited a gun dealership in Virginia, where he was sold an assault rifle that had been secretly rendered inoperable before he left the store, since he was already on the radar of federal authorities, officials said.
Prosecutors from the Department of Justice initially sought a 20-year prison sentence, pointing to his repeated attempts to join ISIS and his effort to obtain a weapon. His defense attorneys, however, argued for a much shorter term of about six and a half years.
In the end, Liam O'Grady, a U.S. District Judge, sentenced him to 11 years behind bars.
It remains unclear why Jalloh was eventually released earlier than expected. Prison sentences can sometimes be reduced for various reasons, but officials have not yet explained what led to the change in his case.
Records show that he was still on supervised release when Thursday's rampage took place.
News about his earlier conviction — and his eventual release from prison — quickly raised serious questions about how someone with known ties to ISIS was still able to carry out such a disturbing attack.
"The horrific tragedy that occurred today on ODU's campus never should have happened," Jen Kiggans, the U.S. representative for the congressional district neighboring the university, said in a statement released shortly after the attack.
