Who was Mohamed Bailor Jalloh? Ex-National Guard, convicted ISIS supporter behind Old Dominion University shooting

The gunman who opened fire on the campus of the Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia — killing one and injuring two — was a former soldier convicted of and jailed for supporting ISIS, and was out on probation for the very same terrorism-related charge.

The suspect was identified by the FBI as 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, who was also killed killed in Thursday's shooting, and the federal agency is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.

Who was Mohamed Bailor Jalloh?

A former soldier who served in the Virginia National Guard from 2009 to 2015, Jalloh was a combat engineer with no deployments and an honourable discharge, according to military officials cited by NBC.

Court documents reveal details about Jalloh's activities in support of ISIS.

After his discharge, Jalloh travelled to his native country of Sierra Leone and communicated with a prominent online ISIL supporter, following which he contacted an ISIS facilitator in Africa in the hopes of joining the terror outfit's unit in Libya.

Jalloh even boarded a truck carrying ISIS recruits to Libya in September 2015, but told the terror group's facilitator two months later that he had abandoned the truck mid-journey as he was not ready to fight for ISIS.

Subsequently in December 2015, Jalloh paid $341.04 to the ISIS facilitator to help with expenses related to sending another batch of ISIS recruits into Libya.

He eventually returned to the US from Sierra Leone, but prior to that came in to contact with one Abu Saad Sudani, who he understood to be an ISIS figure engaged in plotting attacks on American soil.

Following his return to the US in January 2016, Jalloh continued to remain in touch with Sudani, and continued to send money to support the terror group, paying $250 and $450.63 in March and June respectively.

As Jalloh continued to discuss his interest in funding ISIS, he came into contact with an undercover FBI agent posing as a member of the terror group living overseas.

In June 2016, Jalloh then sent $50 worth of gift card codes to the undercover agent, followed by another $500 in cash.

By this time, Sudani was plotting an attack in the US, involving Jalloh and another individual.

During these interactions, Jalloh said that he thought about carrying out an attack — "all the time" — inspired by 2009 mass shooting by a US Army major Nidal Hassan in Fort Hood, Texas.

Further, in order to demonstrate his commitment to carrying out an attack, Jalloh purchased a Glock 19. He also told his co-conspirators that he had a family member in North Carolina with access to AR-15s and AK-47s.

Then, in June 2016, Jalloh travelled to North Carolina to acquire weapons, and was turned down by an AK-47 owner when he offered to buy it.

A month later, on 2 July 2016, Jalloh purchased a Stag Arms AR-15 from a local gun store.

He was arrested the next day.

In court, Jalloh pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 11 years in prison and five months of probation, in addition to participating in a computer monitoring programme.

The 36-year-old was released in 2024.

While not much else is currently known about Jalloh, court documents also give a glimpse into his personality.

Jalloh's defence team described the former National Guard member's "radical ideals" as a shallow search for identity and purpose, not a commitment to violence.

The 36-year-old's life was marked by “war, trauma, violence, sexual abuse, and significant cultural and familial dislocation,” a sentencing court memo says, adding that he was a “bright, capable, hard-working, and kind man who had a promising future prior to his dalliance with extremism."

During his sentencing, Jalloh also apologized to the court, saying, "Jalloh apologized to the court, the military and the people of the United States and said: "Every time I see any atrocities that ISIS commits, I am disgusted by it because I know this is not what I want to be a part of.”