In a dramatic video shared online by the Army ROTC, cadets at Virginia’s Old Dominion University are recounting how they stabbed and disarmed a gunman targeting their classroom, then frantically tried to save the life of the wounded instructor who grappled with the attacker.
In the 17-minute video posted Wednesday, the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets tell how Lt. Col. Brandon Shah lunged at the shooter during the March 12 incident at the Norfolk school, placing himself between the gunman and the class.
Cadet Jah-Ire Urtarte said Shah, who was shot and did not survive, saved lives that day.
“If he didn’t lunge at him, you know, I wouldn’t be here right now,” he said. “There’s a possibility he could’ve turned his gun and I could’ve been next.”
The shooter, Army National Guard veteran Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, also died. He had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was on supervised release at the time of the attack.
The students say Jalloh walked into their classroom and nervously asked if it was an ROTC class. When someone confirmed that, they say he pulled a pistol from his waist, shouted ‘Allahu akbar,’ and fired toward Shah.
Students dived for cover. As Shah struggled with Jalloh, Cadet Louis Ancheta said he pulled out his pocket knife, moved toward them and was hit in the chest by a round.
“It really didn’t feel like it hit me,” he said, pointing toward his sternum. “It felt like a graze. After that, I’m like, `I can keep on going.’ ”
When Shah got the man turned aro …
