A decorated American military hero is dead after a radical Islamic terrorist opened fire at Old Dominion University in Virginia Thursday, targeting the very men and women who have served our nation with honor.
Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah, a beloved military instructor, was fatally shot by Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a naturalized citizen and former National Guard soldier who was previously convicted of supporting ISIS. Let that sink in, Patriots – a known ISIS sympathizer was walking free and had access to our military installations.
This wasn't some random act of violence. This was terrorism, plain and simple. Jalloh specifically targeted Lt. Col. Shah, a man who dedicated his life to training the next generation of American warriors. While the mainstream media will likely dance around the facts, we won't: this was a targeted assassination of an American hero by a radicalized Islamic extremist.
How Did This Happen?
The bigger question every American should be asking is simple: How does someone with ISIS connections remain free to carry out attacks on American soil? How does a convicted terrorist sympathizer gain access to a university where our military personnel are training?
Lt. Col. Shah represented the best of America – a dedicated serviceman who chose to continue serving his country by educating future military leaders. His life was cut short by the very ideology our military fights against overseas, but this time the enemy was already inside our gates.
This tragedy highlights the critical importance of President Trump's renewed focus on extreme vetting and immigration security. For too long, our nation's security apparatus has failed to adequately monitor and contain known threats within our own borders.
"Every American military family deserves to know that convicted terrorists aren't walking free in their communities, capable of targeting their loved ones."
Lt. Col. Shah's sacrifice will not be forgotten, but his death demands answers. How many other Mohamed Bailor Jallohs are out there? How many more American heroes will we lose before our government takes domestic Islamic terrorism seriously?
Our thoughts and prayers are with Lt. Col. Shah's family and the Old Dominion community. America has lost a patriot, and his killer's motivations cannot be ignored or whitewashed by a complicit media.