A 32-year-old Virginia man has been charged with a federal felony after allegedly stealing a firearm in 2025 and illegally selling it to the assailant responsible for the March 12 deadly shooting at Old Dominion University, according to a March 13 Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
The DOJ release said Kenya Mcchell Chapman appeared in federal court March 13 and was charged with dealing in firearms without a license in connection with the shooting and three counts of making false statements during purchases of firearms.
According to the release, law enforcement searched Chapman’s residence March 13 and found “ammunition consistent with the firearm recovered from the ODU shooting.”
The shooter, identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, opened fire at a classroom of ROTC students at the Virginia-based university, killing one person and injuring two others before a group of students stopped him, as Zeale News reported. Jalloh died at the scene.
The release notes that Jalloh was a previously convicted felon and as such could not legally purchase or own any firearms or ammunition. Chapman allegedly stole the firearm in 2025 from a vehicle in Newport News, a city in Virginia, and sold it to Jalloh just days before the Old Dominion shooting, according to the release.
Chapman faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted.
The release adds that court documents said that in 2021, Chapman allegedly purchased three firearms that were recovered from crime scenes – two from the scene of a homicide and one from a public intoxication incident.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in the release that the Biden DOJ “declined to prosecute this man and let him off easy with a warning.”
“Left-wing soft-on-crime policies cost lives — but this Department of Justice doesn’t tolerate crime, we punish it,” she added.
The victim killed in the shooting was identified as Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah, a military science professor and ROTC instructor at the university, according to FOX 5 DC. Shah was teaching the class that Jalloh attacked.
A military veteran who dedicated years serving his country, Shah was an Apache pilot during deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe during Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Atlantic Resolve, according to a tribute to him by ODU President Brian Hemphill. Shah spent 600 hours on combat missions and served as director of operations for a brigade in Georgia before joining the ODU staff.
According to VPM, an NPR affiliate, Shah is survived by his wife, Katherine, and their child.
Hemphill said the university is mourning the devastating loss of Shah.
Community members are honoring his life, “which was marked by significant service and countless contributions,” Hemphill noted. “We express our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to his immediate family, loved ones, dear friends, trusted colleagues, and all of those impacted by this horrific tragedy.”