A convicted would-be ISIS supporter allegedly got a stolen gun through an off-the-books sale, and now the Justice Department is moving to punish the seller after a deadly classroom attack at Old Dominion University.
Story Snapshot
- Federal prosecutors charged Kenya Chapman after investigators linked him to the firearm used by ODU shooter Mohamed Bailor Jalloh.
- Jalloh had a 2016 terrorism-related felony conviction and was legally barred from possessing firearms.
- Authorities say the gun’s serial number was obliterated, forcing investigators to re-surface it to trace the weapon.
- ROTC students subdued and killed the shooter within minutes, limiting casualties but not preventing a fatal loss.
Federal charges follow a rapid, deadly campus attack
Mohamed Bailor Jalloh opened fire on March 13, 2026, in a classroom inside Old Dominion University’s business school building in Norfolk, Virginia, according to law enforcement and university statements reported by media outlets.
Witness accounts reported that he yelled “Allahu akbar” during the attack. Police said the incident unfolded quickly—less than 10 minutes from the first call to the point responders determined the shooter was dead—highlighting both the speed of the threat and the urgency of the response.
The Trump Justice Department sought double the judge's prison sentence for Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, meaning that if it had been adopted, then the accused Old Dominion University assassin would still be in prison and not free to kill an Army war hero. https://t.co/QMtiOZ9z0Y
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) March 13, 2026
U.S. Army Cadet Command confirmed that three ROTC members were injured, with one fatality. The victim was identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, 42, an ROTC instructor and professor of military science at the university and a former Army helicopter pilot.
Officials credited ROTC students with stopping the attacker, and an FBI official said they did not shoot him, suggesting the shooter was subdued by other means before being killed.
The weapon trail: stolen gun, private transfer, and an obliterated serial number
The Justice Department charged Kenya Chapman on March 14, 2026, one day after the shooting, marking the first major prosecution publicly tied to the firearm supply chain in the case.
Reporting citing court documents says Chapman stole the gun from a car in Newport News, Virginia, about a year before the attack, and later sold it to Jalloh. Investigators said the serial number had been obliterated, complicating tracing until it was re-surfaced.
This part of the case matters for more than the headline: it underscores how criminal gun transfers often evade ordinary safeguards. A stolen weapon, moved through an informal sale, can reach someone who is legally prohibited from owning firearms—without a dealer, paperwork, or the typical trace points.
That reality doesn’t indict lawful gun owners who follow the rules; it highlights the longstanding enforcement challenge of stopping theft and trafficking while preserving constitutional rights for citizens who obey the law.
A terrorism-related felony conviction—and unanswered questions about early release
Authorities said Jalloh pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State extremist group and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.
Under federal law, felony convictions generally bar firearms possession, making him a prohibited buyer. He was released from federal custody in December 2024 after completing a drug treatment program—about 2.5 years early—and placed on supervised release, which functions similarly to probation, according to the reporting.
Available reporting leaves key specifics unresolved, including why a terrorism-related offender qualified for a sentence-reduction pathway that sources note “typically” does not apply to such cases.
The FBI also said there was no connection between the shooting and the ongoing Iran conflict, and the shooter’s motive for attacking the campus remains unclear based on the information publicly available so far. Those gaps matter because policy debates can quickly outrun verified facts.
What the case signals for enforcement, public safety, and civil liberties
Chapman’s alleged conduct—stealing a firearm and selling it—sits squarely in the category most Americans agree should be punished: criminals moving weapons outside the law.
At the same time, the case demonstrates why broad-brush narratives can miss the target. Jalloh did not acquire the gun through a lawful retail purchase, and the alleged transfer involved a stolen firearm with a defaced serial number—classic indicators of criminal sourcing rather than ordinary, law-abiding ownership.
A man was charged Friday with selling a stolen gun to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard who used it to kill one person and wound two others at Old Dominion University, federal authorities said.https://t.co/Z8WrZR7PHy
— KYW Newsradio – NOW ON 103.9 FM! (@KYWNewsradio) March 15, 2026
For ODU and other campuses, the attack is likely to drive another round of security reviews and emergency-response training. For federal authorities, the investigation continues into how Jalloh obtained the gun and how his post-release supervision functioned in practice.
For the public, the hard lesson is that the government’s core duty—public safety—depends on enforcing existing laws against theft and trafficking, while respecting constitutional rights that millions of responsible Americans exercise peacefully every day.
Sources:
Justice Department charges man accused of selling gun to Old Dominion University shooter
Justice Department Charges Man Accused of Selling Gun to Old Dominion University Shooter With Prior
