A convicted ISIS supporter who murdered a decorated Army veteran at Old Dominion University obtained his weapon from an illegal gun dealer the feds had already caught and let walk—raising urgent questions about enforcement failures that cost an American hero his life.
Story Snapshot
- Kenya Mcchell Chapman, 32, charged with illegally selling a stolen gun to convicted terrorist Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, who killed ROTC instructor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah on March 12, 2026
- Chapman had been caught by ATF in 2021 for straw purchasing guns later tied to two homicides, but prosecutors declined to charge him
- Jalloh, barred from gun ownership due to a 2016 ISIS material-support conviction, targeted a ROTC class, shouting “Allahu akbar” before brave students subdued and killed him
- Federal investigators traced the obliterated serial number through phone records and matching ammunition found at Chapman’s residence
Enforcement Failure Enabled Campus Terror Attack
The Justice Department charged Kenya Mcchell Chapman with dealing firearms without a license and three counts of making false statements after he allegedly stole a handgun and sold it to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh days before the Old Dominion University shooting.
ATF had already flagged Chapman in 2021 when three firearms he purchased surfaced at crime scenes, including two homicides. Despite receiving a straw purchaser warning letter and writing an apology admitting wrongdoing, the U.S.
Attorney’s Office declined prosecution. That decision left Chapman free to continue illegal gun trafficking, ultimately arming a known terrorist.
Convicted Terrorist Targeted Military Students
Jalloh served eight years for attempting to provide material support to ISIS before his 2016 conviction made him a prohibited person under federal firearms law.
On March 12, 2026, he entered an ROTC military science class at ODU’s business school, confirmed twice that it was an ROTC event, then opened fire while shouting “Allahu akbar.”
He killed Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, a 42-year-old decorated Army helicopter pilot with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe who had returned to his alma mater as an ROTC program leader.
Two others suffered gunshot wounds before ROTC students physically subdued and killed Jalloh within ten minutes, preventing further casualties.
Justice Department charges man accused of selling gun to Old Dominion University shooter: https://t.co/z5Ycqt6KzO
— The Virginian-Pilot (@virginianpilot) March 13, 2026
Obliterated Serial Number and Forensic Breakthrough
Chapman allegedly stole the handgun from a vehicle in Newport News approximately a year before the shooting, then obliterated the serial number to hinder tracing.
Federal investigators from the FBI Norfolk Field Office and ATF Washington Field Division had to resurface the marking forensically. Phone records showing multiple calls between Chapman and Jalloh in the week before the attack provided the critical link.
A search of Chapman’s Smithfield residence uncovered ammunition matching rounds recovered at the ODU crime scene, cementing the connection between the gun dealer and the weapon used to murder an American servicemember.
Patriots Stopped Massacre While System Failed
ROTC students exemplified the courage and quick action our military trains, stopping what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged “could have been a far deadlier attack.”
ODU Police Chief Garrett Shelton confirmed the entire response—from first call to shooter neutralized—took under ten minutes, and the students did not use firearms to kill Jalloh.
Meanwhile, the same federal system now prosecuting Chapman faces hard questions about why a documented straw purchaser with guns tied to multiple homicides was allowed to walk free and continue arming criminals and terrorists.
Chapman faces a maximum of 35 years if convicted on all counts, but that justice comes too late for Lt. Col. Shah’s widow and child.
THE LATEST: A man was charged Friday with selling a stolen gun to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard who used it to kill one person and wound two others at Old Dominion University, federal authorities said. https://t.co/o3eZi64i2w
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) March 14, 2026
This case exposes a dangerous gap in enforcing existing gun laws against illegal dealers who supply prohibited persons. The focus must remain on prosecuting criminals who break current firearms statutes, not imposing new restrictions on law-abiding Americans.
Chapman’s alleged theft, obliteration of serial numbers, and sale to a known felon demonstrate that rigorous enforcement of laws already on the books—had it occurred in 2021—might have prevented this tragedy and saved a decorated veteran’s life.
Sources:
Justice Department charges man accused of selling gun to Old Dominion University shooter – KSL
