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Eight Army ROTC students credited their quick reactions to Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, their instructor. Shah was killed in the attack.<\/em> The Army ROTC cadets who fought back against a classroom gunman at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, say they owe their lives to the mentorship and training they received from Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, the senior instructor killed in the attack<\/p>\n Eight cadets spoke for the first time about the attack in a 17-minute video released by the Army last week, the first public comments the cadets have made since the shooting. The students described the suddenness of the attack in their Military Science classroom, the deadly fight with the shooter, and how Shah\u2019s leadership and example carried the day.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only reason we were able to do what we did in the end was because of him,\u201d said Samuel Reineberg, a cadet who tended to Shah\u2019s wounds after the fight, falling back on first aid skills he\u2019d learned from Shah during combat casualty care training.<\/p>\n The cadets described how a typical day in a classroom suddenly morphed into a scene of violence and valor. One cadet who charged the shooter was shot in the chest by a small-caliber pistol, but continued fighting as his classmates piled on behind me.<\/p>\n But the students say it was Shah who led the way.<\/p>\n \u201cCol. Shah used the last of his strength to tackle that guy and gave us just enough time that we needed,\u201d recalled Louis Ancheta, the cadet who was shot.<\/p>\n \u2018If he\u2019s going, I gotta back him\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Cadet Wesley Meyers said he was presenting a research project when Mohamed Bailor Jalloh entered the room and opened fire. Jalloh was a former Virginia National Guard soldier who had become a follower of the late radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. He served 8 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to \u201cattempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq\u201d in 2016.<\/p>\n Meyers said Jalloh yelled \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d and began firing what Ancheta said was a .22 caliber Glock 44.<\/p>\n Shah lunged at the Jalloh, said Ancheta, who, unlike most ROTC cadets, had attended enlisted basic training as a soldier in the Army Reserve. Under his desk, Ancheta said he reached for his pocket knife.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Task&Purpose<\/a>
\nMatt White<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNo greater love. Fair winds and following seas, Col. Shah.<\/p>\n