Old Dominion University continues to provide counseling services and support to the campus and the community. Constant Hall remains closed. All previously scheduled events at all campus locations for Saturday, March 14, 2026, and Sunday, March 15, 2026, are canceled.
Many students and faculty will be away from campus in the coming week due to Spring Break. For employees, Old Dominion University will reopen on Monday, March 16, 2026, with necessary flexibility to accommodate individual circumstances.
Individuals with personal belongings and other items left in Constant Hall, may pick up their items available tomorrow, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in the Center Café located in the Webb Center beginning at 11 a.m. and ending at 8 p.m. The location and hours will remain the same for the following day, Sunday, March 15, 2026.
Exact text from ODU official Messages & Alerts archive under Shared Friday, March 13, 2026
Dear Members of the Old Dominion University Campus Community:
In the wake of yesterday’s horrific tragedy, I want to share several thoughts with you and also provide some campus specific details.
Earlier today, I shared a tribute to Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah ’07, the dedicated Monarch, public servant, and true hero, who tragically had his life taken far too early. I so appreciate Lt. Col. Shah for how much he gave to our University. If you have not already done so, please take a moment to honor his life, mourn his loss, salute his service, and reflect on his contributions.
Today, I also visited the wounded ROTC student, who remains in the hospital. I am pleased to report that he is recovering from his wounds under the care of our exceptional medical team and in the presence of his family. Another wounded ROTC student is recovering at home. Their courage and resilience are an inspiration, and I know we all look forward to their return to campus.
The grace and unity that our campus community demonstrated during this tragic incident and in the hours that followed have been a source of strength. As many Monarchs will be away from campus in the coming week, this will undoubtedly be a time of reflection. For employees, we will reopen this coming Monday (March 16, 2026) with necessary flexibility to accommodate individual circumstances.
Counseling will continue to be available for anyone on our campus and in our community. Counseling services and 24/7 crisis support are available for any students, faculty, and staff who may need emotional support following this incident. Trained professionals are available to listen, provide confidential care, and help connect individuals with additional support resources. Please visit https://www.odu.edu/emergency-management/support-resources for specific details.
For individuals with personal belongings and other items left in Constant Hall, pick up will be available tomorrow (Saturday, March 14, 2026) in the Center Café located in the Webb Center beginning at 11 a.m. and ending at 8 p.m. The location and hours will remain the same for the following day (Sunday, March 15, 2026).
Constant Hall will remain closed for classes and other student activities for the duration of the Spring 2026 semester. The Registrar is working with various campus partners to determine new building and room assignments, which will be communicated directly to both faculty and students prior to the conclusion of Spring Break.
Dean Erika Marsillac, Ph.D. will work with faculty and staff in the Strome College of Business to determine the best approach for offices located in Constant Hall. Options include temporary workspaces and remote work through the current term.
The University will develop a long-term plan for the building. The configuration and utilization beyond Spring 2026 is under careful consideration. Those details will be announced once finalized.
The investigation into yesterday’s tragic event is continuing, and we are providing any and all assistance to the FBI and local law enforcement. I express my sincere appreciation to them, as well as elected officials and community partners for their concern, outreach, and support for the Monarch Nation.
In the coming week and moving forward, we will keep you informed of developments regarding the ongoing investigation and future plans. While this is a very somber time for our campus community, we have the determination, resilience, and strength to follow the example set by Lt. Col. Shah in his many roles as a Monarch student and alumnus, brave soldier, engaging mentor, revered teacher, exemplary leader, and his most important roles as a husband, father, and friend.
Forever Monarch Strong,
Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D.
President
Exact community-wide administrative email from odu.edu/president; announces Constant Hall semester-long closure
Message elements
How the first alert is built
To check this alert, Claude (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.
Old Dominion University continues to provide counseling services and support to the campus and the community. Constant Hall remains closed. All previously scheduled events at all campus locations for Saturday, March 14, 2026, and Sunday, March 15, 2026, are canceled.
Many students and faculty will be away from campus in the coming week due to Spring Break. For employees, Old Dominion University will reopen on Monday, March 16, 2026, with necessary flexibility to accommodate individual circumstances.
Individuals with personal belongings and other items left in Constant Hall, may pick up their items available tomorrow, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in the Center Café located in the Webb Center beginning at 11 a.m. and ending at 8 p.m. The location and hours will remain the same for the following day, Sunday, March 15, 2026.
Sourceabsent0/0
Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.
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Hazardabsent0/0
What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.
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Locationabsent0/0
Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.
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Guidanceabsent0/0
The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.
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Timeabsent0/0
When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.
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Impactabsent0/0
What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.
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Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.
On March 12, 2026, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh attacked an ROTC class inside Constant Hall at Old Dominion University, killing Lt Col Brandon Shah and wounding two cadets before being killed by ROTC students. Constant Hall is the principal building of ODU's Strome College of Business and one of the largest academic buildings on campus, housing dozens of faculty offices and classrooms in addition to the ROTC department of military sciences. The morning after the attack, while ODU was simultaneously processing news that five other Virginia campuses were being hit by copycat bomb threats targeting their libraries, President Brian O. Hemphill issued a Friday-evening community message announcing that Constant Hall would remain closed for the duration of the Spring 2026 semester. The Registrar's Office began relocating every Constant Hall class to alternate rooms before the end of Spring Break (March 14-22, 2026). Dean Erika Marsillac of the Strome College of Business coordinated remote-work and temporary-workspace arrangements for displaced faculty. The university committed to a longer-range planning process for the future of Constant Hall. This case sits in the archive as an example of post-attack institutional communication, not a Clery emergency notification (the threat had been neutralized), but a community-advisory equivalent that performs the heavy lifting of campus stabilization. It is the kind of communication that defines the institutional voice for the second and third weeks after a high-casualty event, and worth preserving as a category. It also documents how ODU's emergency-management capacity had to operate at simultaneously elevated tempo on the day of the post-ODU bomb-threat wave at five sister Virginia campuses.
Analysis
Key Findings
01Constant Hall remained closed for the entire Spring 2026 semester, an unusually long post-attack closure for a major academic building
02The Registrar's Office relocated every Constant Hall course before the end of Spring Break, using the break as a logistical buffer
03ODU's emergency-management apparatus operated at maximum bandwidth on March 13, 2026, managing both the Constant Hall response and concurrent copycat bomb threats at five sister Virginia campuses
04President Brian O. Hemphill's community message functions as the institutional analog of a wartime commander's letter, a single name carrying operational weight
05The Strome College of Business (housed in Constant Hall) was the most disrupted unit, with Dean Erika Marsillac coordinating temporary arrangements
06Constant Hall's long-term future remained under active university review at semester's end
Outcome
ODU's Strome College of Business — which is housed in Constant Hall — relocated all classes for the remainder of Spring 2026. The Registrar's Office completed building reassignments before the end of Spring Break (March 14-22, 2026). Constant Hall's long-term future remained under review. The university also faced a separate wave of copycat bomb threats at five other Virginia campuses the same day, requiring simultaneous emergency-management bandwidth.
Campus Alert Archive. "Old Dominion University: Police activity, March 13, 2026." Incident of March 13, 2026. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/old-dominion-university-constant-hall-closure-2026-03-13/