The highest civilian and enlisted officials of the Army have recently recognized the bravery of several Old Dominion University ROTC cadets with prestigious awards. Eight cadets received Meritorious Service Medals, and two were honored with Purple Hearts for their courageous actions in stopping a gunman on March 12. The assailant, identified by the FBI as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was a former National Guardsman linked to a case involving support for the Islamic State.
In a private ceremony held this week, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer presented these honors to the cadets for their heroic efforts during the violent incident in an ROTC classroom. The names of the cadets have been kept confidential for their privacy, as noted by U.S. Army Cadet Command on Facebook.
According to federal authorities, the cadets managed to subdue and neutralize Jalloh after he initiated an attack, tragically killing 42-year-old military science professor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah and injuring two others at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
During the chaos, one cadet sustained critical injuries and required hospitalization, while another was treated for injuries and subsequently released.
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer and Secretary Dan Driscoll have publicly acknowledged the selflessness and bravery exhibited by these ROTC cadets during such a harrowing event. (Credit: Ian Ives/U.S. Army)
The Purple Heart is a distinguished medal awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces who are wounded or killed in action against an enemy force, while serving as a prisoner of war, or as a result of combat wounds.
The Meritorious Service Medal is the noncombatant service equivalent of the Bronze Star.
It has not been made clear how many students were in the class at the time of the shooting, which the FBI has described as an act of terrorism, hailing the cadets’ intervention to prevent additional casualties.
“There were students that were in that room that subdued him, and, uh, rendered him no longer, uh, alive,” according to Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk field office, in news conference remarks that raised an outpouring of American pride on social media.
Secretary Dan Driscoll honored eight cadets from Old Dominion University’s Army ROTC program with Meritorious Service Medals and two were awarded Purple Hearts for their courage, service and bravery for “terminating” an ISIS terrorist attacker. (Ian Ives / U.S. Army)
“I don’t know how else to say it,” Evans said. “They basically were able to terminate the threat.”
They heroically did so without guns.
Jalloh “was not shot,” she added, as reports indicated the cadets killed the ISIS-linked assassin by stabbing him to death.
Jalloh’s ability to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack in the U.S. during President Donald Trump’s military strikes on Iran occurred after he had been released early by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department despite his conviction on terrorism-related charges.
Secretary Dan Driscoll shakes the hands of Old Dominion University ROTC cadets after awarding medals during a private ceremony Sunday. (Ian Ives/U.S. Army)
Jalloh had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to ISIS and had been released from federal custody in December 2024 to mere supervised probation, which failed to prevent the attack.
He was released about 2 1/2 years early after completing a drug treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told the AP. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.
It was not clear how Jalloh qualified for the program, which allows inmates to shave up to a year off their sentences. Inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically are not eligible for such programs or other sentence-reducing credits.
Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said less than 10 minutes passed between when officers were called about a shooting in the university’s business school building and when responders determined the shooter was dead.
“The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him – actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote March 12 on X.
Three members of the U.S. Army ROTC program at Old Dominion were wounded, including one who died. Jalloh also had served. The naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone was a specialist with the Virginia Army National Guard from 2009 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged.
Shah, 42, was the university’s professor of military science and a former ODU ROTC cadet who returned in 2022 to lead the program.
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