Pentagon leaders award 2 Purple Hearts to Old Dominion cadets who took down ISIS supporter

The Army’s apical civilian and enlisted leaders person awarded 8 Meritorious Service Medals and 2 Purple Hearts to Old Dominion University ROTC cadets who stopped the March 12 gunman aboriginal identified by the FBI arsenic Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a erstwhile National Guardsman convicted successful a lawsuit tied to enactment for the Islamic State.

In a backstage ceremonial this week, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer honored the cadets for their actions during the onslaught wrong an ROTC classroom, according to U.S. Army Cadet Command connected Facebook. The cadets’ names were withheld for privacy.

Federal authorities person said the cadets subdued and killed Jalloh aft helium opened fire, sidesplitting subject subject prof Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, 42, and wounding 2 others during an onslaught during their people astatine Old Dominion successful Norfolk, Virginia.

One cadet was hospitalized successful captious condition, portion the different was treated and released aft the deadly melee.

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Sergeant Major of the Army Michael R. Weimer and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll presented honors to Old Dominion University Army ROTC cadets, acknowledging their bravery and sacrifice during a schoolroom shooting earlier successful the month. (Ian Ives / U.S. Army)

The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are wounded, killed oregon dice from wounds received successful combat, portion a captive of war, oregon successful enactment against an force force.

The Meritorious Service Medal is the noncombatant work equivalent grant to the Bronze Star.

It has not been made wide however galore students were successful the people astatine the clip of the shooting, which the FBI has described arsenic an enactment of terrorism, hailing the cadets’ involution to forestall further casualties.

"There were students that were successful that country that subdued him, and, uh, rendered him nary longer, uh, alive," according to Dominique Evans, peculiar cause successful complaint of the FBI's Norfolk tract office, successful quality league remarks that raised outpouring of American pridefulness connected societal media.

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Army Secretary Dan Driscoll honored 8 cadets from Old Dominion University’s Army ROTC programme with Meritorious Service Medals and 2 were awarded Purple Hearts for their courage, work and bravery for "terminating" an ISIS violent attacker. (Ian Ives / U.S. Army)

"I don't cognize however other to accidental it," Evans said. "They fundamentally were capable to terminate the threat."

They heroically did truthful without guns.

Jalloh "was not shot," she added, arsenic reports indicated the cadets killed the ISIS-linked assassin by stabbing him to death.

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Jalloh's quality to transportation retired an ISIS-inspired violent onslaught successful the U.S. aft President Donald Trump started the subject strikes connected Iran is simply a relation of erstwhile President Joe Biden's Justice Department releasing a terrorist.

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll shakes the hands of Old Dominion University Army ROTC cadets aft awarding 8 Meritorious Service Medals and 2 Purple Hearts during a backstage ceremonial Sunday. (Ian Ives / U.S. Army)

Jalloh had pleaded blameworthy successful 2016 to attempting to supply worldly enactment to ISIS and had been released from national custody successful December 2024 to specified supervised probation, which failed to forestall the attack.

He was released astir 2 1/2 years aboriginal aft completing a cause attraction program, a idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance told the AP. The idiosyncratic was not authorized to talk publically and did truthful connected information of anonymity.

It was not wide however Jalloh qualified for the program, which allows inmates to shave up to a twelvemonth disconnected their sentences. Inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically are not eligible for specified programs oregon different sentence-reducing credits.

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Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said little than 10 minutes passed betwixt erstwhile officers were called astir a shooting successful the university’s concern schoolhouse gathering and erstwhile responders determined the shooter was dead.

"The shooter is present deceased acknowledgment to a radical of brave students who stepped successful and subdued him – actions that undoubtedly saved lives on with the speedy effect of instrumentality enforcement," FBI Director Kash Patel wrote March 12 connected X.

Three members of the U.S. Army ROTC programme astatine Old Dominion were wounded, including 1 who died. Jalloh besides had served. The naturalized U.S. national from Sierra Leone was a specializer with the Virginia Army National Guard from 2009 until 2015, erstwhile helium was honorably discharged.

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Shah, 42, was the university’s prof of subject subject and a erstwhile ODU ROTC cadet who returned successful 2022 to pb the program.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.