Old Dominion shooting victim was decorated veteran, university graduate

Trevor Metcalfe, The Virginian-Pilot on Mar 13, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NORFOLK, Va. — The man killed in a shooting at Old Dominion University Thursday flew Apache helicopters in Iraq, earned numerous awards for his military service and helped grow the university’s ROTC program enrollment by almost 50% in one year.

Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, 41, was killed in a shooting at ODU that injured two other people.

Multiple elected officials, including Gov. Abigail Spanberger and U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, identified Shah as the person killed in what the FBI has labeled an act of terrorism.

Shah, a Virginia native, was head of ODU’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. He was professor of military sciences and joined the university in 2022. As head of the university’s ROTC program, Shah grew the program by nearly 50% — from 95 to nearly 140 members — during his first year, according to an ODU profile. He said he enjoyed seeing his cadets transition from students to “soldier-leaders,” likening the moment to a light bulb turning on.

“We do in one office everything the university does,” Shah was quoted as saying in the profile. “We recruit. We train. We educate. We develop.”

Shah enlisted in the Army in 2003. He achieved a dream of being a pilot, flying aircraft like the AH64 Apache attack helicopter over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe during Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Atlantic Resolve. He flew more than 1,200 hours, 600 of them on combat missions, in three aircraft.

Shah also received numerous military commendations, including two Bronze Stars.

Shah enrolled in ODU in 2005. He both received his Army commission and graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in sociology with a minor in military science. He later earned both a Master of Business Administration from the University of Georgia and a Master of Science in engineering management from the University of Kansas.

At ODU, Shah helped reintroduce a university tradition in 2023: an annual rappelling exercise, where cadets zip down the side of S.B. Ballard Stadium strapped into harnesses. Shah was also an advocate for minority and veteran business education, according to the ODU Alumni Association.

In his last position before joining ODU, Shah was director of operations for the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade in Savannah, Georgia, handling operations, training, modernization and long-range plans.

Spanberger said she was saddened by his death and praying for his family.

“A devoted ROTC instructor, Lt. Col. Shah didn’t just lead a life of service to our country, he taught and led others to follow that path,” Spanberger said.

At Shah’s Chesapeake home on Thursday evening, the front yard was decorated with American flags and a Georgia Bulldog statue. A man who answered the door declined to answer questions.

The FBI identified the gunman who opened fire in Shah’s classroom as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh. The ROTC students in the class disarmed and killed him.

-------------