‘He Tried to Save Us’: ODU Cadets Recall ROTC Classroom Attack 

Cadets from Old Dominion University spoke publicly for the first time since the terrorist attack inside their Army ROTC classroom that left their instructor dead and two students wounded.

On March 12, ISIS supporter Mohamed Bailor Jalloh entered the classroom, shouted “Allahu Akbar,” and opened fire, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah and wounding two cadets. Shah and several students rushed the attacker, overpowering and killing him.

Army ROTC recently released an interview in which cadets who were inside the classroom recounted the attack in their own words.

Shah’s Final Act

The cadets pointed to their instructor, Shah, as the hero of the story. They said Shah often reminded them to “Be Bold. Be Quick. Be Gone.” And on March 12, he did just that.

According to the cadets, Jalloh opened fire, striking Shah, who then lunged at the attacker and began wrestling with him. This gave the cadets time to respond.

“Colonel Shah used the last of his strength to tackle that guy,” Cadet Jeremy Rawlinson said. “And it gave us just enough time that we needed to be able to get on him.”

Cadet Louis Ancheta added that Shah was a “hero” who “tried to save us.”

Cadets Rush the Attacker

When he heard the shots, Ancheta said he dropped to the ground and took cover under a table before pulling out his pocketknife and rushing forward to help his instructor. On his way toward the struggle, Ancheta was shot but continued to fight. He said, “As I’m stabbing him, other cadets jump in.”

Additional cadets rushed the attacker, piling on and working to secure the firearm. One cadet said his priority became controlling the weapon and directing it away from others in the room. The struggle ended once the gun was wrestled away and rendered safe, the cadets said.

Applying Training Under Fire

With the attacker no longer a threat, the cadets immediately took action to treat the wounds of their peers and instructor. Their quick response followed the combat lifesaving training they received from ROTC.

Cadet Samuel Reineberg said that once the struggle was over, he “found a gunshot wound to the upper leg” on Shah and called for a belt to use as a tourniquet.

Law enforcement later swept the room, placed a chest seal on Ancheta, and transported him to the hospital for surgery.

Later that day, the students learned that Shah had died from his injuries.

“Everyone looked up to him. He was the standard to follow,” Cadet Wesley Myers said. “And when it came to it, he stood up without hesitation and ran to protect the family he was building, embodying everything that the Army values speak for.”

Cadets said that with support from the university and wider community, they have continued training and returned to daily life following the attack.

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