A university in Virginia has revealed that federal officials failed to notify the school about a student's prior ISIS-related conviction before he carried out a deadly terror attack on campus. The student, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, had been convicted in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State terror group. Despite this, neither his federal probation officer, the FBI, nor any state or federal agency informed the university of his conviction.
On March 12, Jalloh opened fire inside an ROTC classroom at the university, killing an Army veteran instructor and injuring two students before being fatally subdued by ROTC members. An independent report found that had the university known about Jalloh's criminal history, it is likely that he would have been removed from campus due to the risk he posed, particularly to military-affiliated individuals.
The FBI has stated that it is not responsible for notifying colleges about an individual's criminal history, citing a shared responsibility across state, local, federal, and community partners. The bureau noted that Jalloh's terrorism-related convictions were widely publicized by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017. However, the university was not informed of his conviction, and Jalloh did not voluntarily disclose his criminal record to the school.
Under Virginia law, public universities are prohibited from asking applicants about their criminal history during the admissions process. The university had removed criminal history questions from its applications, leaving it dependent on voluntary student disclosures or outside law enforcement notifications. The university's policy at the time only sent post-admission background questionnaires to first-time students, excluding readmitted returning students like Jalloh.
The university has since expanded its post-admission criminal history questionnaire to include readmitted students alongside first-time students. The incident has highlighted a gap in the university's post-admission screening policies and the need for law enforcement agencies to share critical information with universities to ensure student safety. The university's report found that Jalloh's readmission application did not raise any concerns, and two professors who taught him in the months before the attack reported no behavioral concerns.
Jalloh's case has raised questions about the effectiveness of current laws and policies in preventing individuals with a history of violent extremism from posing a threat to university communities. The incident has sparked a review of the university's safety protocols and procedures for screening students with a history of violent extremism.
