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Fatmatu Jalloh: 5 things about ODU shooter Mohamed Jalloh's sister who claimed to know nothing about attack

Fatmatu Jalloh identified herself as the sister of ODU shooting suspect, Mohamed Jalloh, and reportedly said she knew nothing of the attack.

Published on: Mar 13, 2026 7:56 AM IST
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Fatmatu Jalloh identified herself as the sister of Old Dominion University shooting suspect Mohamed Jalloh. The man born in Sierra Leone is known to have ISIS links and his actions in Virginia on Thursday are being probed as a terrorist act, as per the FBI.

Fatmatu Jalloh represented her brother, ODU shooting suspect, Mohamed when he was charged in 2016 over ISIS links. (LinkedIn/Fatmatu Jalloh, X/@AlecLace)
Fatmatu Jalloh represented her brother, ODU shooting suspect, Mohamed when he was charged in 2016 over ISIS links. (LinkedIn/Fatmatu Jalloh, X/@AlecLace)

Fatmatu said she knew nothing of the attack, as per Associated Press. “I have no idea what is going on. I know nothing. I don’t even know who to call,” the agency reported her say.

Jalloh is believed to have sought out a ROTC class at ODU before opening fire. The FBI shared that he had shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ before attacking. Right-wing political commentator and activist, Laura Loomer, launched a scathing attack on Fatmatu as she was revealed to be Jalloh's sister.

Also Read | Brandon Shah: 5 things about ROTC instructor Mohamed Jalloh killed in ODU shooting; student praised for stabbing suspect

“Why is Fatmatu Jalloh, the immigrant lawyer sister who advocated for her ISIS terrorist supporting brother allowed to live in the US and practice law? She should be denaturalized and deported back to Africa. She should also be interrogated by the FBI,” Loomer, who has made Islamophobic comments on X in the past, wrote.

She added “Did she have advanced knowledge of her brother’s Islamic terror attack?”. However, Fatmatu has denied any such knowledge and law enforcement officials have not indicated otherwise either. However, these allegations have driven up interest in who Fatmatu Jalloh is. Here's all you need to know about Mohamed Jalloh's sister.

Fatmatu Jalloh: 5 things to know

  1. Fatmatu Jalloh is from Sterling, Virginia. She reportedly last saw her brother two days before the attack.
  2. Fatmatu was her brother's lawyer when he was charged with a plot to help IS. Associated Press had reported in 2016 that Fatmatu had a brief phone call where she confirmed she was representing her brother. She had said at the time that she hadn't viewed the unsealed files and denied Jalloh helping the IS group.
  3. Fatmatu is a lawyer a Managing Attorney at Jalloh LLC., which is based out of McLean, Virginia. She focuses on immigration and business law.
  4. Jalloh's sister studied at the Southern University Law Center, where she got her Doctor of Law.
  5. Fatmatu has over ‘12 years of experience specializing in employment-based and family-based immigration law. Proven expertise in preparing Visas, H-1B, O-1, EB-1, E2, and NIW petitions, responding to RFEs, and handling PERM Labor Certifications’ as per her LinkedIn profile.

Fatmatu is also reportedly a member of the DC chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) as per Laura Loomer. While one Fatmatu H Jalloh was listed as a member, no photo was provided so it cannot be said for certain if they're the same person.

  • Shuvrajit Das Biswas
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shuvrajit Das Biswas

    Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More

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