The gunman who opened fire on a Virginia University has been identified as a National Guardsman turned Isis terrorist.
Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, had entered a classroom and asked if it was an Reserve Officers' Training Corps class.
After someone confirmed that it was, he opened fire, shooting the professor several times, law enforcement sources told the New York Post.
According to Old Dominion Chief of Police Garrett Shelton, two victims were transported to a hospital, where one died, while a third person believed to also be a victim took themselves to another hospital.
In a posting on its website, the university said there was no longer a threat but urged the public to avoid the scene of the shooting where emergency personnel continued to work.
Classes and campus operations were cancelled for the rest of the day.
The university's initial alert said that the gunman opened fire shortly before 10.49am local time in a classroom in Constant Hall,.
By midday, police vehicles with flashing lights had blocked off streets around the Norfolk campus. The university, founded in 1930, serves some 24,000 students, according to the school's website.
University President Brian Hemphill said in a statement to the school community that Old Dominion had "faced a tragedy" and thanked police and emergency responders for swift intervention.
Lt. Col. Jimmy Delongchamp, public information officer for the US Army Cadet Command at Fort Knox said: "We will continue to coordinate with the university and law enforcement agencies as they investigate the incident.
"There's still a lot more stuff we have to work out."
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger wrote on Facebook that she had spoken with university leadership and was mobilizing state support to assist with the situation.
Police outside Old Dominion University in Virginia
|REUTERS
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In 2017, Jalloh was sentenced to 11 years in prison plus five years supervised release for attempting to provide material support to ISIS and the ISIL, according to the US Department of Justice.
Jalloh, at his sentencing, claimed he deeply regretted his actions and was disgusted by ISIS.
"First of all, I want to say I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but this mistake of giving any support to the violent and extreme organization ISIS has been the most devastating one I have ever decided to make in my life," he told the judge, according to a transcript reported by CBS News.
Jalloh was sentenced to 11 years in prison and according to his Federal Bureau of Prisons record he was released early in December 2024.
The cause of Jalloh's death has not yet been confirmed.