The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says Mohamed Jalloh, the gunman who attacked Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire.

An FBI spokesperson, Dominique Evans, at a press conference on Thursday, said Mr Jalloh killed one and injured two others before he was neutralised.

“I can tell you that prior to him conducting this act of terrorism, he shouted ‘Allahu Akbar,’ and he was formally a subject of FBI investigation on material support for terrorism,” said Mrs Evans.

The FBI spokesperson said Mr Jalloh was overpowered by students and neutralised, preventing him from killing more people.

On the U.S. Counter Terrorism Project website, Mr Jalloh, a U.S. citizen of Sierra Leone origin, was once arrested for having ties with ISIS in 2016.

“Mohamed Bailor Jalloh is a U.S. citizen and former member of the U.S. Army who pled guilty in October 2016 to attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Jalloh admittedly attempted to donate money to the terror group and carry out a domestic attack in its name,” the CTP website reads.

Kash Patel, FBI Czar, in a statement on X on Thursday, said, “The FBI is now investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism. Our Joint Terrorism Task Force is fully engaged, embedded with local authorities, and providing all resources necessary in the investigation.”