The Justice Department charged Kenya Chapman with selling a stolen gun to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, who killed one person and wounded two others at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, federal authorities said Friday.
Prosecutors said the case was filed one day after the attack by Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard. Authorities said Jalloh yelled “Allahu akbar” before opening fire in a classroom at the Virginia school, where he was taking online classes at the time of the shooting.
Court papers, authorities said, described the classroom as one attended by active duty servicemembers and ROTC students. The documents also said Jalloh twice asked those in the room to confirm that it was an ROTC event before he began to shoot, and that he was killed by ROTC students.
In a court affidavit, prosecutors said Chapman told federal agents that he stole the gun from a car in Newport News, Virginia, about a year before the shooting. The affidavit says Chapman met Jalloh at work and that Jalloh told him he needed the gun for protection as a delivery driver.
The affidavit further said Chapman told agents he knew Jalloh had spent time behind bars but denied knowing Jalloh had a previous felony conviction that made it illegal for him to possess a firearm. Chapman also told agents he had no idea Jalloh would commit the attack, according to the affidavit.
Chapman is charged with making a false statement during a firearm purchase and engaging in the business of firearms dealing without a license, authorities said. The man’s attorneys declined to comment Friday.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a social media post that “Chapman allegedly stole a firearm and illegally sold it to a convicted terrorist, who murdered a decorated American veteran,” and said Chapman would “finally face the full weight of justice.”
Investigators said the gun’s serial number was partially obliterated, complicating efforts to trace it. Authorities said they ultimately found Chapman using phone records showing multiple calls between him and Jalloh in the week before the shooting, according to the affidavit.
Federal authorities said they had investigated Chapman in 2021 for straw purchases, where someone buys a gun for a person who cannot legally possess one. The document said Chapman received a “straw purchaser warning letter” and wrote a letter of apology after admitting to the straw purchases in 2021, and that the case was presented to the U.S. attorney at the time but the office declined to prosecute, according to the Justice Department.
Separate from the charges, federal officials previously said Jalloh was subdued and killed by ROTC students, and that the shooting killed a professor of military science who led the ROTC program at Old Dominion. The U.S. Army Cadet Command said the man killed was Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, 42, of Chesapeake, who left behind a spouse and a child.
Old Dominion’s president, Brian Hemphill, said in a Friday message to the university community that “Above all else, Lt. Col. Shah embodied what it means to be a devoted family man, a revered leader, and heroic protector even in his final moments.” On campus Friday morning, Eddie Flack poured out Wild Turkey on a lawn across from Constant Hall in honor of Shah, according to the AP report. Flack said, “I love you Brandon. Rest well with the creator. I love you,” and later said, “Sorry Brandon. The world needs more love,” and “We need to spread more love and not this hatred.”
Authorities said less than 10 minutes passed between when officers were called about the shooting in a business school building and when responders determined the shooter was dead. Investigators also said it was unclear how Jalloh qualified for the drug treatment program that led to his early release from federal custody in December 2024, and that one of the wounded was hospitalized in critical condition before being upgraded to fair condition.
A message seeking information about Jalloh’s incarceration and release was left with the federal Bureau of Prisons. In a Thursday news conference, FBI special agent in charge Dominique Evans said there was no mention “whatsoever” of the war in Iran when asked whether Jalloh mentioned it, and asked the public for help, saying no detail was too small.
This story has been corrected to show the AP reporter in the byline is Allen G. Breed, not Alan.