Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, an ROTC instructor at Old Dominion University, was tragically shot by a convicted ISIS sympathizer. In a heartfelt tribute, Carlos Ortiz, a close friend from college, spoke emotionally about Shah during a CNN interview with Victor Blackwell.
“Brandon had such a vibrant spirit,” Ortiz, 41, expressed. “His smile was contagious, and he devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving in the United States Army. There was no better soldier than him.”
Ortiz and Shah’s friendship began during their undergraduate years at ODU in Norfolk.
“We were inseparable during college—training side by side and sharing meals every day,” Ortiz reminisced. “His passion for the military and the army was unwavering.”
Although their military paths eventually led them to different assignments after graduation, they maintained their bond over the years.
After graduation, they were deployed separately, but the pair stayed in touch.
Shah, 42, fulfilled his dream of being an Army pilot, flying an AH64 Apache helicopter over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe during Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Atlantic Resolve.
He logged more than 1,200 flight hours, 600 of them on combat missions — in three different aircraft.
He collected more than 17 awards linked to his storied military career, including the Air Medal of Valor and three Army Commendation Medals.
Four years ago, he returned to ODU as a professor of Military Science to teach the next generation of service members.
Shah, 42, who was married and had a son in elementary school, was about to retire and build a “forever home” in his beloved Virginia, so he could spend time with his family, Ortiz said.
“And now that next chapter in his life will never happen,” he added.
Shah was in the middle of teaching an ROTC course at ODU on Thursday when Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, stormed into the classroom and opened fire.
Shah was killed and two students were injured, before students subdued and killed Jalloh at the scene, according to federal authorities.
Another friend of Shah’s who served with him in Iraq, said he would not be surprised to learn that Shah was shot while protecting his students.
“Knowing him, he was that kind of guy,” De Quincey Dixon said, according to the Washington Post.
Jalloh — a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone — became absorbed into the world of the terrorist organization ISIS after leaving his post as a combat engineer with the Virginia National Guard.
In 2017, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to ISIS, according to the DOJ. But he was granted early release from federal prison in 2024 after completing a drug treatment program.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X that the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism, and added: “In the meantime, please pray for the victims, their families, and the ODU community.”
