Man charged for selling gun to Old Dominion shooter

A 32-year-old Virginia man faces federal charges for illegally selling firearms to the man who attacked Old Dominion University’s campus, according to the Department of Justice. Kenya Chapman allegedly sold a gun to 36-year-old Mohamed Jalloh, who opened fire during an ROTC class on the university’s Norfolk, Va., campus.

Chapman allegedly stole a gun from a car in Newport News last year, then sold it to Jalloh days before the fatal shooting, the DOJ said. Police searched Chapman’s home after the shooting and found ammunition matching the gun recovered from the scene, the DOJ said. Jalloh became a felon after pleading guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material aid to the Islamic State group. Prosecutors charged Chapman with three counts of lying on a federal form and one count of unlicensed firearms dealing. Anyone who steals firearms, lies on federal forms, and puts weapons in the hands of terrorists will be found by the FBI, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

Jalloh killed one person and injured two others before a group of students subdued him, officials said. Law enforcement found Jalloh dead at the scene with a Glock 44 .22 caliber with a partially altered serial number, according to the affidavit against Chapman.

Is anything else known about the shooting? The court filings against Chapman included various details about the shooting. Jalloh was enrolled in online classes at Old Dominion at the time of the shooting, according to court filings. Witnesses recalled Jalloh entering and twice asking classroom attendees to confirm that they were conducting an ROTC meeting before shooting. Witnesses also recalled Jalloh stating “Allah Akbar” before and during the shooting, the filings added. The deceased victim has been identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, whom the filings describe as the active-duty lieutenant colonel assigned to oversee the Army’s ODU ROTC unit.

Dig deeper: Read my initial report on the shooting for more on Jalloh’s criminal history.