A Virginia man accused of illegally selling the gun used by a former National Guard service member in a shooting inside an ROTC class at Old Dominion University has been arrested.
Kenya Chapman, 32, of Smithfield, appeared in federal court Friday after being charged with dealing firearms without a license and three counts of making false statements during firearm purchases, according to the Department of Justice.
Investigators say Chapman sold a .22-caliber Glock 44 to Mohamed Jalloh, a former member of the Virginia Army National Guard accused of using the weapon in Thursday’s attack, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, a military science instructor, and wounding two students, before he was fatally stabbed by another student.
Jalloh was prohibited from possessing guns because of his prior felony conviction, according to prosecutors. Despite that restriction, Chapman allegedly sold him a stolen handgun with a partially obliterated serial number just days before the attack, officials said.
Chapman faces up to 35 years in prison, if convicted, though a federal judge will ultimately determine his sentence.
Agents searched Chapman’s home Friday and questioned him about the gun, according to court filings.
Chapman allegedly first claimed he found the gun “in the woods,” but later admitted he had stolen it from a car in Newport News about a year ago and recently sold it to Jalloh for $100, prosecutors said.
Jalloh was released from federal prison in 2024, about two and a half years early, after completing a drug treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. He had been sentenced to 11 years in 2017 for providing material support to ISIS.
Chapman told investigators he met Jalloh through work and claimed the buyer said he needed the gun for protection while working as a delivery driver, documents allege. Although Chapman was aware that Jalloh had served time in prison, he denied knowing that Jalloh was a convicted felon or about his intentions to use it in the attack, according to investigators.
Federal prosecutors say Chapman had previously come to the attention of law enforcement in connection with suspected straw purchases, which are when someone buys guns on behalf of another person who cannot legally acquire them.
In 2021, investigators found he had purchased three guns later recovered at crime scenes, including one linked to a homicide, though he was not prosecuted at the time, the affidavit states.
“If you steal firearms, lie on federal forms, and put weapons in the hands of convicted terrorists, this FBI will find you,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “I want to thank our Norfolk Field Office and partners who continue to work 24/7 to bring to justice those responsible for yesterday’s attack. In the meantime, we continue to keep the victims, their families, and the entire Old Dominion community in our prayers.”
