title #295 Samuel Reineberg - First-Hand Account of the Old Dominion Terrorist Attack

description Prior-enlisted in the U.S. Army, he began his military career as an 88K (Watercraft Operator) at Fort Eustis, Virginia, where he served aboard the Logistics Support Vessel (LSV-5) and later became the first Leading Seaman of the Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL).

In 2023, he was selected for a Division Commander’s Green to Gold scholarship, transitioning to become an Army Officer candidate. He is currently a Leadership Science major at Old Dominion University and a senior in the Army ROTC program, with plans to commission as an Active Duty Second Lieutenant this May.

Most recently, he was recognized by the Secretary of the Army and the Sergeant Major of the Army for the actions he and his peers took in response to the attack at Old Dominion University.



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pubDate Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:00:00 GMT

author Shawn Ryan

duration 6695000

transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] TaxAct can think of a million things more fun than filing taxes. TaxAct is going to name some now. Sitting in traffic. Folding a fitted bedsheet. Listening to your co-worker talk about his fantasy team. Digging a hole. Digging an even larger hole next to that original hole. Unfortunately, TaxAct's filing software can't make taxes fun, but TaxAct can help you get them done. TaxAct. Let's get them over with.

Speaker 2:
[00:36] Sam Reineberg, welcome to the show, man.

Speaker 3:
[00:39] Thanks, Shawn.

Speaker 2:
[00:40] How are you doing?

Speaker 3:
[00:41] I'm good, really good. Really happy to be here.

Speaker 2:
[00:44] Well, it's an honor to have you here. Been through it this month.

Speaker 3:
[00:50] It's been a month.

Speaker 2:
[00:51] I'll bet it has.

Speaker 3:
[00:53] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[00:54] I'll bet it has.

Speaker 3:
[00:56] It's been up and down, but through everything, I'm still grateful.

Speaker 4:
[01:08] You seem good.

Speaker 3:
[01:10] Yeah. Amazing time being here. Even before I got here, been active, doing things, staying outside.

Speaker 2:
[01:22] Keeping yourself busy.

Speaker 3:
[01:24] Oh, yeah. You have to. You have to. I mean, when I've not been busy, it's when my mind gets busy, you know.

Speaker 2:
[01:35] Oh, I do. I do. Let me give you an introduction here. You ready? Sam Reineberg, prior enlisted US. Army soldier, 88-Kilo Watercraft Operator from Fort Eustis, Virginia. Served aboard the Logistics Support Vessel LSV-5, first leading seaman of the Maneuver Support Vessel Light, MSVL. Earned a Division Commander's Green to Gold Scholarship in 2023, leadership, science major at Old Dominion University, senior in the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps ROTC program, commissioning as an active duty second lieutenant this May. You're here to talk about what happened on March 12th. You received a Meritorious Service Medal for your actions at Old Dominion University on March 12th, which is being upgraded, correct?

Speaker 3:
[02:28] That's correct. A Soldiers Medal.

Speaker 2:
[02:31] To a Soldiers Medal. Congratulations.

Speaker 3:
[02:33] Thank you.

Speaker 2:
[02:34] Do you mind if I read your citation?

Speaker 4:
[02:37] Not at all.

Speaker 2:
[02:42] Cadet Samuel D. Reineberg, for exceptionally heroic actions, while serving as a cadet at the Old Dominion University while responding to an active shooter incident and life-threatening emergency on 12 March, 2026. In the face of extraordinary danger and with total disregard to his own personal safety, Cadet Reineberg displayed incredible courage under extreme circumstances. His selfless service and personal courage are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him and the United States Army. This day, this 21st day of March, 2026.

Speaker 4:
[03:28] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[03:30] That was at the funeral.

Speaker 2:
[03:32] That was at the funeral they gave that to you?

Speaker 4:
[03:34] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[03:39] They had a small ceremony prior to the beginning of the funeral that day. The Sergeant Major of the Army and the Secretary of the Army put that on me.

Speaker 2:
[03:51] How did that feel?

Speaker 3:
[03:56] It's indifferent. It's great to have them there, to be present, like having those leaders present. But in the moment, standing there in front of a bunch of people I know and don't know, and to my right, was the family of Colonel Shaw. That, I never had a feeling like that, because of getting a medal put on me, but the end result, that I really take some really responsibility, a lot of responsibility for, Colonel Shaw didn't make it.

Speaker 2:
[04:54] You take responsibility for that?

Speaker 3:
[04:56] Not, no, but like, just how it happened, it was like I was working on him. I don't know how to, if it's survivor's guilt, but yeah.

Speaker 2:
[05:09] You were working on him? Trying to revive him?

Speaker 3:
[05:12] Not revive him, keep him alive, stop the bleeding. Yeah, get him out of there. So, the family, it's just seeing the family. And then after the Sergeant Major of the Army and Secretary of the Army said their words about that day, the family came up to me. Oh, the cousins, the aunts, the uncles. And I'm standing there in my dress uniform. And they're saying thank you to me. They're thanking me. And I am only able to respond with I'm so sorry, because that's just how I've, you know, it's just, I can't even imagine. Because I'm having a hard time. I can't imagine them, you know, giving me hugs, telling me thank you. And it wasn't just me, it was the other five of us, six of us that were up there, them going through the same thing with the team.

Speaker 2:
[06:36] There was eight of you in total, correct?

Speaker 3:
[06:40] Well, there was one that was shot that had ran on foot after she was shot in the leg. So that minus, that one leaves seven or six, six, that got awarded. The one guy who got awarded, he actually had his awards, his Purple Heart, his Meritorious Service Medal given to him in his hospital room by the Secretary of the Army and the Sergeant Major of the Army.

Speaker 2:
[07:21] Are you close with the other guys?

Speaker 3:
[07:23] Oh, yeah, especially now.

Speaker 4:
[07:24] I'll bet.

Speaker 3:
[07:26] Especially now. Yeah, the team.

Speaker 4:
[07:31] How are they doing?

Speaker 3:
[07:33] I think they're good, for the most part. I'm sure it's pretty similar to my experience. It comes and goes in terms of like thinking about it, and not thinking about it. But I've seen all of them. Yeah, they're in good spirits.

Speaker 4:
[07:57] Good.

Speaker 2:
[07:58] Good.

Speaker 4:
[07:59] All of them.

Speaker 2:
[08:00] That's great to hear.

Speaker 3:
[08:01] Yeah, even the one that was hit in the stomach.

Speaker 2:
[08:06] Is he out of the hospital?

Speaker 3:
[08:07] Out of the hospital. Yeah, out of the hospital. Completed the surgeries. He's good.

Speaker 2:
[08:15] I know he was going to come today, but he can't fly.

Speaker 3:
[08:18] Yeah, he was going to come. I really wish he could have came.

Speaker 2:
[08:22] Well, I mean, I don't know if it got back to you guys, but you have an open invite. So, yeah, whenever he is able to fly, we will fly you up here and do whatever the fuck you want at the studio.

Speaker 3:
[08:36] That was what he wanted to do. He just wanted to hang out with you, shoot, shoot the shit, do whatever, you know? Just the experience. And when I told him, I was like, hey, there's this opportunity. You want to go? He was in his hospital bed when I told him. And he was like, like, it was like night and day. The energy changed.

Speaker 4:
[09:07] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[09:08] That's cool, man.

Speaker 3:
[09:09] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[09:10] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[09:10] Well, when he's up to speed, up to par, we'll get you guys back up here.

Speaker 3:
[09:16] Yeah. I don't even, I haven't even asked him about recovery yet. I just am happy to see him.

Speaker 2:
[09:21] Right on. Right on, man. Well, look, before we get too heavy here, and it's already pretty heavy, I got you a gift, you know, everybody gets a gift.

Speaker 3:
[09:31] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[09:32] So.

Speaker 3:
[09:34] Sweet.

Speaker 2:
[09:36] Vigilance Elite, Gummy Bears, Made in the USA, Legal in All 50 States. But I actually got you a better gift.

Speaker 3:
[09:43] What?

Speaker 2:
[09:44] So, you know, I mean.

Speaker 3:
[09:47] Oh my.

Speaker 2:
[09:48] You told me about your everyday carrier earlier.

Speaker 3:
[09:51] I do.

Speaker 2:
[09:51] What is it?

Speaker 3:
[09:52] It's a Palmetto State Armory Dagger Compact with its green. Sniper green.

Speaker 2:
[09:59] Nice.

Speaker 3:
[10:00] It's pretty big.

Speaker 2:
[10:02] Is it?

Speaker 3:
[10:03] It's a pretty big everyday carry, not going to lie. It's pretty fat. But it works.

Speaker 2:
[10:08] Hey, if it works, that's all that matters, right?

Speaker 3:
[10:11] It works-ish.

Speaker 2:
[10:12] Well, I want to give you a little upgrade. So, you know, I got a buddy over at SIG. His name's Jason. And I told him you were coming on today. And I don't think any guest I've ever had deserves a everyday carry gun as much as you.

Speaker 3:
[10:30] Oh, gosh. Thank you.

Speaker 2:
[10:32] Let me know what you think.

Speaker 3:
[10:33] Let me look at it. Oh, God.

Speaker 4:
[10:35] I'm...

Speaker 3:
[10:39] That means a lot.

Speaker 4:
[10:39] Hey.

Speaker 2:
[10:41] Might want to take a look at it first. It might be a downgrade.

Speaker 3:
[10:43] Yeah, I'm trying to... Holy crap.

Speaker 4:
[10:49] Yeah. Oh, God.

Speaker 3:
[10:52] The flared magwell, Tim.

Speaker 4:
[10:53] Hold it up.

Speaker 2:
[10:54] What do you think?

Speaker 3:
[10:56] The flared magwell.

Speaker 2:
[10:58] Oh, my God.

Speaker 3:
[10:59] But the...

Speaker 2:
[10:59] All metal. That's the 365 Legion by Sig Sauer. It's got the brand new optics up top. It's got the ported slide there. It's to help with muzzle flip and recoil. It's got the flared out magwell. Like you had already said, it's all metal, no polymer. The thing is a fucking beast.

Speaker 3:
[11:22] I'm just glad the barrel's not threaded. Virginia's changing the laws.

Speaker 2:
[11:28] Oh, yeah, I forgot. They are changing it.

Speaker 3:
[11:30] They're changing them. All my guns are threaded, besides my shotgun and my bolt action.

Speaker 2:
[11:35] Well, there you go. Totally legal in Virginia.

Speaker 3:
[11:38] Yes. Thank God. I also got you a gift.

Speaker 2:
[11:42] Oh, I love gifts.

Speaker 3:
[11:43] This is a boat hat from the Maneuver Support Vessel Light, the newest class of Army vessel, first to be developed in 30 years.

Speaker 2:
[11:54] No shit.

Speaker 3:
[11:55] Swear to God.

Speaker 2:
[11:56] Yeah, this is cool. You know what's crazy? The Army has more boats than the Navy. Did you know that?

Speaker 3:
[12:02] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[12:02] The Navy has more planes than the Air Force.

Speaker 3:
[12:05] Yes. But the Navy's got us beat by tonnage.

Speaker 2:
[12:09] Well, yeah.

Speaker 3:
[12:10] Yeah, they got some fat boats. But yeah, that's from the crew over there in Hawaii right now.

Speaker 2:
[12:19] Is this your old? Yeah, I've read this off in your intro.

Speaker 3:
[12:22] Yep.

Speaker 2:
[12:22] This is it.

Speaker 3:
[12:23] That's it. That was my last assignment before I went to school, back to school.

Speaker 2:
[12:27] Oh, man. I'll wear it proudly.

Speaker 3:
[12:29] Yeah, the crew knows. Some get was given it to you, and they're like, no freaking way.

Speaker 4:
[12:35] It's perfect. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[12:38] Cool. We're up for the interview. So we got here.

Speaker 3:
[12:44] That's holy smokes.

Speaker 2:
[12:46] All right, man. You ready to dive into this?

Speaker 3:
[12:49] I'm ready. Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[12:50] Cool.

Speaker 2:
[12:52] Well, let's start with, so you were in the Army, and then at some point you decided to go officer, which is a huge fucking mistake, but we could talk about that later.

Speaker 4:
[13:06] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[13:07] It's been a wild ride.

Speaker 2:
[13:08] I see that.

Speaker 3:
[13:10] But yeah, I was in the Army. I enlisted out of high school, 18-year-old, early enlistment, 17-year-old, but I didn't ship off till I was 18. I graduated high school, enlisted as a watercraft operator, like you said. Yeah, my dad was in the Army, still in the Army. I've had uncle in the Army. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And the watercraft operator, I mean, 88 kilo, it's on Army boats, LSV-5.

Speaker 2:
[13:52] What are you guys doing on that boat? What's the boat for?

Speaker 3:
[13:55] It's a flat bottom, 274-foot-long flat bottom, 278-feet-long. They do a logistical support.

Speaker 2:
[14:07] Okay.

Speaker 3:
[14:08] They'll put Abrams, Abrams company on there. They'll put tons of connexes or wheeled vehicles, you name it. They'll put it on there and they're able to go, I mean, into unimproved ports. They have a big ramp on the front, lowers down. You can drive right in, right off and on.

Speaker 2:
[14:29] Right on.

Speaker 3:
[14:30] Really low, shallow draft, so they can drive right up onto a beach if they have to, and just offload whatever assets that's on board.

Speaker 2:
[14:41] Right on.

Speaker 3:
[14:42] Awesome gig, like the best. It was really hard going officer over warrant officer, because it's the warrant officers that are in charge over there on those boats.

Speaker 2:
[14:55] So where would the boat transit from? Imagine there's some of these in the Strait of Hormuz or...

Speaker 3:
[15:02] Yeah, to my knowledge, or Fort Eustis, Virginia, that's one.

Speaker 2:
[15:07] Is it salt? You go in the ocean?

Speaker 3:
[15:09] They are ocean. The LSVs are ocean going. Same with the LCUs, which is like a smaller version of the LSV.

Speaker 2:
[15:16] Would you cross the Atlantic with it?

Speaker 3:
[15:18] They do cross the Atlantic.

Speaker 2:
[15:19] Oh, shit.

Speaker 3:
[15:22] They cross all the time.

Speaker 2:
[15:23] So this is like a container ship?

Speaker 3:
[15:26] In a way.

Speaker 2:
[15:26] A military container ship that's a lot more maneuverable and can offload and improve ports, as you said.

Speaker 3:
[15:32] Yes. Yes. Yeah, they... Very versatile. Very versatile. Also in Hawaii and Japan. And prior to, I guess a month or two ago, no activity in the Middle East. They had all come back to... They had all got rehomed to different ports, stateside. But they were... I think they left in 2020 out of Kuwait. And then they came back stateside.

Speaker 2:
[16:10] So what are you going to do as an officer?

Speaker 3:
[16:12] Be a Logistics Officer. I got branched Logistics. So...

Speaker 2:
[16:16] You already know before you even graduate?

Speaker 3:
[16:19] I know. I know where I'm going afterwards.

Speaker 2:
[16:21] Are you serious?

Speaker 3:
[16:22] Yeah. I know my next duty station.

Speaker 2:
[16:25] Holy shit.

Speaker 3:
[16:26] I know my next duty station, the exact unit, everything.

Speaker 2:
[16:30] You want to say where that is or is that...?

Speaker 3:
[16:32] Yeah. I'm going to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. 25th Infantry.

Speaker 2:
[16:35] Get the fuck out. You're going to Hawaii? Nice.

Speaker 3:
[16:39] I'm really excited. That's been a saving... I found out the day after the attack, actually.

Speaker 2:
[16:45] The day after the attack?

Speaker 3:
[16:46] The day after the attack, which was the first day of spring break, I found out that I was getting to Hawaii.

Speaker 2:
[16:52] Holy shit. That was...

Speaker 3:
[16:56] Yeah. It's like you can't make it up.

Speaker 2:
[17:02] That's pretty fucking wild, man.

Speaker 3:
[17:04] Yeah. I found out I was going to Hawaii. I found out that I was going to be in the 25th.

Speaker 2:
[17:09] How the hell do you even take... I mean, what? You kill a terrorist, you guys kill a terrorist as a team.

Speaker 3:
[17:18] Yep.

Speaker 2:
[17:19] And then the next day, the Army's calling you and telling you what your next duty station is?

Speaker 3:
[17:25] I got an email. Hey, you've got orders in your Army account. Look at it. Look at them. So I was like, gosh, OK, let me look at them. I was like, what is it? What could it be that's in there? It's like, hey, here's your report date. You're going here after your school.

Speaker 4:
[17:42] Wow.

Speaker 3:
[17:44] So, I mean, it's why I'm so excited. It was hard to celebrate it, but as time has gone on, that's two and a half, three weeks since everything, it's more and more at the forefront of my mind. Like, hey, I've got great things to look forward to. I'm still getting blessed.

Speaker 2:
[18:07] Good for you, man.

Speaker 3:
[18:08] So, I'm very excited.

Speaker 2:
[18:11] Good for you. Spring is here. The days are getting longer. The weather is getting better. It's important you have the energy to do what you love without crashing. And I'll be honest, with everything I've got going on, if my energy is off, I feel it pretty quick. Ever feel like you just don't have the energy you used to? Brain fog, slower recovery, just feeling worn down? One reason is that as we age, NAD levels can decline fast. And NAD is critical for how your cells create energy. That's why I've been taking Rho Nutrition's Liposomal NAD Plus. And the difference is real. Clean, sustained energy, sharper focus, and better recovery without relying on caffeine or stimulants. NAD supports mitochondrial function, the powerhouse of your cells that keep you energized and your mind sharp. Until recently, replenishing NAD meant expensive clinic visits. But Rho offers a simple at-home option, just one teaspoon a day. Right now, you can try it risk-free with a 60-day money-back guarantee. And, 20% off with code SRS at rhonutrition.com/discount/srs. Again, that's SRS for 20% off at rhonutrition.com/discount/srs. When it comes to dog food, it feels like you have to make a trade-off. Either it's fresh and healthy, or it's easy to store and serve. But not usually both. And that's why I love Sundaes. I try to feed my dog the same way I think about my own food. Using real ingredients that actually support his health. Not just something built for shelf life. Sundaes was founded by a veterinarian, Dr. Tori Waxman, who got tired of seeing premium dog food loaded with fillers and synthetic ingredients. So she built something better. Real air-dried food made in a human-grade kitchen. Every bite is real meat, fruits and vegetables. No kibble, no fillers, nothing you can't pronounce. And the part that makes it easy, you just scoop and serve. No freezer, no thawing, and no prep. We switched Stanley over to Sundaes months ago. And I've noticed the difference. He has better energy, a healthier coat, and it's been so easy to store and serve. Make the switch to Sundaes. Go right now to sundaesfordogs.com/srs50 and get 50% off your first order. Or you can use code SRS 50 at checkout. That's 50% off your first order at sundaesfordogs.com/srs50. sundaesfordogs.com/srs50. Or use code SRS 50 at checkout. You ready to talk about the day, March 12th?

Speaker 3:
[21:11] Of course, yeah. Yeah, it was a regular day. Regular day in class. Started the day off at home. Woke up early. They had like the PT on campus. PT on campus that morning. Like a scavenger hunt. Like a fun game. Kind of, you know, like camaraderie PT session.

Speaker 4:
[21:47] And went back home.

Speaker 3:
[21:48] Got freshened up. Had a little breakfast. Barely. Barely had any breakfast that day. I really pissed me off because I was, like, starving the rest of the day. You'll hear why. And put on some good clothes. Nice civilian clothes that day. We had been dressing in civilian clothes for a few weeks due to, like, the force protection.

Speaker 2:
[22:15] No shit?

Speaker 3:
[22:16] Yeah, yeah. Why?

Speaker 2:
[22:17] What was it? Because of the Iran conflict?

Speaker 3:
[22:20] I don't know. Probably. Force protection condition for that had been raised.

Speaker 2:
[22:27] They just didn't want any ROTC personnel in uniform or what?

Speaker 3:
[22:31] That was, that was like, yeah. I think it was within the local bases as well.

Speaker 2:
[22:38] Interesting. So it probably was because of the Iran conflict.

Speaker 3:
[22:41] Maybe. I just know that I was told to wear civilian clothes. So I was, that day in class, I was meant to, my two partners and I, we had a combatant command brief. That day, each group got to sign a brief or combatant command a brief on in class. And we had done the first half that Tuesday. Fast forward to Thursday, we're doing mine. Class goes as normal. I had arrived an hour early to prepare.

Speaker 2:
[23:19] What class is this?

Speaker 3:
[23:21] This is the military science class, the senior military science class for the Army ROTC.

Speaker 2:
[23:25] The Colonel Shaw is teaching.

Speaker 3:
[23:27] Yes, he is the only teacher. He teaches the military science class for the seniors. Because he's the senior guy, senior officer. And yeah, I got there an hour early, went over my presentation with my group, two partners. And everybody else in the class kind of starts filling in, coming in. We class started around 920 that day. It was a little early, but not out of the ordinary. And we're all in the classroom. And the way the classroom is set up, it's almost like I was telling your team this, like this room, in the way of the dimensions, where we're all facing this way, and my facing this direction. And Colonel Shaw is standing. He likes to stand behind your chair, right in front of your, like, your chest right there, kind of near your engine, where that's where his desk would be. And the entrance to the class would be where that door was. And the desks are long, without gaps in between. And there's a walkway on the right, right here. And for some reason that day, I chose to sit near the back of the class. I usually like to sit in the front, sat at the back, sat with one of my partners. It would be right there for, you know, visual purposes. And we had gotten through our brief. The rest of the teams had gotten through their briefs. And we're getting into the part of the class where Colonel Shaw is giving his critique, critiques and his, you know, what he thought was good and was bad. And he, like, you know, he complimented me that day, actually. He was like, you know, Reineberg, one of the most knowledgeable guys. I did my brief on transportation command, be a logistics officer coming from that as an enlisted guy. I thought, why not? But you didn't have enough knowledge to not stand in front of your, in front of your battle when she was presenting for your group. It's like being, I was standing kind of awkwardly in between the desk and the projector screen, covering up this girl. She's like probably like, I don't know, four, four ten, four foot eleven. So I was like, ah, like he always had like a good, like quick humor with the way he did things. He had good humor with it. He's doing the critiques for the rest of the class. And he's about to let us go for the day. He's like, hey, you know, I might not see you guys after spring break. I didn't know why. And yeah, so, and then, you know, it was like basically about to be done. And Skywalk's in the room. Now, what's weird about this is the door locks. Door usually locked from the outside. You have to be let in from the inside. And I don't remember that very specifically, but one student had gotten a little bit later to class that day, maybe 925. And I'm pretty sure that student had to be let in by Colonel Shaw. And then the class went through about near to the end, and this guy walks in, didn't have to be let in. It's weird, just a weird detail. I told that, I gave that in my statement later on. So yeah, I'm like...

Speaker 2:
[27:48] The last student just left the door halfway open?

Speaker 3:
[27:51] No, it was closed. It was closed.

Speaker 2:
[27:53] It was closed?

Speaker 3:
[27:54] The door was closed. The door was closed. Now maybe it was like this much, then I was... So I was towards the back. I couldn't see, but yeah. So the guy, terrorist, walks in the room, and...

Speaker 2:
[28:19] Muhammad Jaloh. That's his name, right? Is that how you say his last name?

Speaker 3:
[28:24] I don't know. I had never even seen the guy before.

Speaker 2:
[28:27] You'd never seen him?

Speaker 3:
[28:28] Never.

Speaker 2:
[28:30] Had anybody in the classroom ever seen him?

Speaker 3:
[28:33] There were some that thought they had. And some of... some other cadets in the junior class had thought they had that... they thought they had seen him while during the PT hours early in the morning, during, like, a rock march around campus, being like, You go, sir. You go, ma'am. Sarcastic.

Speaker 2:
[29:07] What was he wearing?

Speaker 3:
[29:10] Ah, dark hoodie, dark pants. He had these gloves on, like wool gloves. He had a beard, a longer beard.

Speaker 4:
[29:29] What did he say?

Speaker 3:
[29:31] Well, he walked in a room and he was, like, kind of, like, nervous. He's like, Is this ROTC or is this seminar? And we're all, like, Huh? Nobody said anything. He said it again, like, Is this ROTC or is this seminar? I don't know who it was, but somebody in the front was, like, Yeah, like, that was ROTC. And he, as soon as that person said, Yeah, he drew his gun, yelled, Allah Akbar, and started shooting my professor. And I like, I hit the floor, well, not the floor, but like under, like right kind of ducked under the table.

Speaker 4:
[30:27] Like, Oh, oh shit.

Speaker 3:
[30:30] I ended up apparently like stepping on the girl next to me. She told me that later, like maybe like a few days, actually told me that a few days ago. And I'm back up. And the way, I'm not thinking about any of this. This is the weird part.

Speaker 2:
[30:50] I mean, did you even realize he was shooting? I've been shot at a lot. I've been shot at a point blank distance. And it always takes, at least for me, it usually takes a couple of seconds to realize, holy shit, this is okay. I'm getting fucking shot at.

Speaker 3:
[31:08] It was like a second or two maybe tops and then everybody's on the ground screaming. And I'm like on my feet running now. I have to clear the row of the people that are on the ground, like trampling them. Shaw, Colonel Shaw, he had like, was able to kind of like take step forward, some steps forward and kind of grab and pull them in, bear hug him. It's the shooter. So he, while being shot at, took steps forward and like bear hugged the shooter while being shot at. Yeah, and I had gotten up and then was moving right and hooking the left to make it to the front of the class. And I see another cadet already on top of the shooter with a knife. And I had yelled, get him on the way there to the front. Like literally the distance is the same in this room. As the classroom. And. He, there was one cadet on top already, was Shaw, Colonel Shaw. And me and another cadet had arrived at the same time, but he was a row ahead of me, maybe two rows, a row ahead. And, and it gets kind of, you know, it kind of slows down on my brain thinking about it. But there was like four of us total that handled this guy. We were immediately trying to like go for the gun, right? He's like trying to shoot me, he's trying to shoot a friend next to me on my left. He's just trying to keep shooting. And we had our hands on the top of the slide of this Glock. And as soon as we had the... We got him pinned in the wall in the front of the class. And as soon as we had the gun pointed away from our classmates, I had turned around, like I'm on my knees, I'm turning around while holding the gun, like still wrestling with the guy. I turned around and, you know, still screaming and stuff. All that shit's going on. And I turned around, I was like, everyone get the hell out of here. Everybody run and somebody call 911. Somebody call 911, everyone get the hell out. And my classmates, they remember my face being like the last face they saw apparently, running out of the classroom. And it really freaked them out because they were like, I don't even remember them running, to be honest, because I was, it's just so much going on so fast. Maybe after a minute of wrestling with the dude and taking care of this guy, the group of us. He finally like, let go. I mean, he had been stabbed, he had been beat. I mean, took an eye out.

Speaker 4:
[35:13] You took an eye out? I did. How'd you do it?

Speaker 3:
[35:19] My finger. And then one of the other cadet had taken the gun. And at this point, after that, after the gun has been, the guy's done, the gun's handled, I go, my attention is just all on Colonel Shaw. I could care less about the terrorist, to be honest. But going into the aid now, with him, he had tried to stand up, like, pretty quickly, he tried to stand up. And his, he kind of leaned back into the wall, kind of braced his back into the wall, and then eyes rolled, lights out. Fell onto the ground. I, like, grabbed him by his shirt on the way down, fell kind of with him to stop him, in a way. And at that point, I'm going, it's, like, it's, it's still no thinking, but it's now, it's, like, now it's, like, now it's, like, real, like, really, really real. And, you know, this training, I don't know if it's training or it probably is, because I took the shirt up, his shirt up, and I took his pants down, and, and I'm look, and I'm searching for blood or wounds. And I-

Speaker 2:
[37:12] Like exit wounds?

Speaker 3:
[37:13] Yeah, the, then the blood. And, um, he's, he's hittin the leg, upper, upper leg, like high up in the leg.

Speaker 4:
[37:22] For moral?

Speaker 3:
[37:24] Yeah, I would say so. And, um, just based off just how much blood there was, and it was a Glock 22 caliber. Yeah, so at all places, right? It's like one of the, the least, like the worst place.

Speaker 4:
[37:45] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[37:47] And, uh, he's lights out on me, but he's opened his mouth and pulled the tongue, uh, made sure he's breathing. And then, uh, one of my, one of my battles gave me his belt. That belt didn't work. It was, had a weird, like, kind of cinch mech. Just wasn't working.

Speaker 2:
[38:11] You're gonna use it as a tourniquet?

Speaker 3:
[38:13] Yeah. We're going, we're going into treating. We're trying to stop his blood.

Speaker 4:
[38:16] It's a lot.

Speaker 3:
[38:18] And, uh, it's like me, it's, it's other guy, other cadet. We're pulling another belt off of him. His belt's this leather belt, strong. Going up, cinching it down. And, um, at this point, I'm like, I'm having trouble working on him because of being into the, pinned against the wall and it's on his right leg. And he's, his right leg's kind of as closest to the wall. So I'm like, somebody get out in the hallway and secure the hallway because there's more really wide hallway. Like there's more room to work, move, move him and work on him. And, um, yeah. So we picked him up. I was like, me and this other guy, picked him up, put him in the hallway. And, uh, he like came back for like a minute maybe. And he's trying to fight me to get up, like stand up. And I'm like, Brandon, no man, you can't get up. Like, ambulance is coming, like you're going to be all right. We're going to get you out of here, man, but you cannot get up. And he didn't really say anything at all.

Speaker 4:
[39:38] Who is this?

Speaker 3:
[39:39] This is Brandon. This is Colonel Shaw, Brandon.

Speaker 4:
[39:41] Oh God.

Speaker 3:
[39:42] Um, Brandon Shaw. And, uh, cause I'm like, you know, I know his first name and I'm like, I'm trying to use his first name. Uh, so we're waiting on the cops to come. Uh, maybe a couple more minutes had passed. I'm not sure, but I'm like...

Speaker 2:
[40:03] Is he coherent? He couldn't tell.

Speaker 3:
[40:06] Uh, sorta maybe. His eyes were wide open. Wide open.

Speaker 4:
[40:12] Uh...

Speaker 3:
[40:16] Yeah, like he had gone lights out, like, unconscious, and then came back after we'd moved him in the hallway and really cinched that tourniquet on, the first belt. And then, uh, the first two officers arrive, and it's one guy and it's one female, one girl, and she's, uh, she's got a... I see it on her immediately. It's this, like, it's this tourniquet. It's, like, right on her front, or her rig. She kinda just stops. Like, she's like, oh, my God. And I'm, like, over top of Colonel Shaw, like, this close, like, right here, like, and I look up and I see her, and I'm like, give me your tourniquet. Me and my buddy who was right next to me, who's, like, still, like, looking after him, we put it on above, even higher up at this point, like, just right, right there.

Speaker 2:
[41:10] As high as you can get it?

Speaker 3:
[41:11] As high as you can get it.

Speaker 2:
[41:12] That's what you're supposed to do.

Speaker 3:
[41:13] So we just inched it down. And the mail officer came back, and, uh, Chronoshawn went lights out again. And I was like, we need to get the hell out of here. So, uh, me, two other cadets, and the mail officer, we carried him down two flights of steps out onto the front of the building. This is a regular building. This isn't the ROTC building. Uh, regular business-type classes held in there. Um, right next, right across the street from the football stadium. And parking garage. And, uh. We sit him down and redoing the tourniquet again, make it even tighter. And he comes back again. And this time, he's talking, talking.

Speaker 4:
[42:17] Wow.

Speaker 3:
[42:18] He's talking. He's asking, he's like, I need my inhaler, but choked up in his throat. It's like he needs his inhaler. And I'm on top of him. And I, he says that to me and I start screaming at everybody. There's students out at this point. We've got the phones out recording. There's SWAT running past, you know, guns blazing. And I'm just screaming for this inhaler. And one cadet had ran and tried to go run and find one. And then there's like other cadet, another cadet is like going in and out of the building, making sure that like, because we had another one, other one that was hit up and still in the room. And then the police finally, they like, they're with me now with Colonel Shaw and. I was like, Brandon, we're going to get you out of here, man. They're right here. The ambulance is right here. We got you, bro. We like, we're going to get you out. It's going to be okay. Like, and he just was looking at me, eyes wide. He's awake. He's conscious. He's not talking, though. And, and I told the police, I was like, hey, like he's lost a lot of blood. I'm covered in it. Like, my shoes, from my shoes up to my chest and my hands to my elbow.

Speaker 2:
[44:00] So I'm both soaked, soaked in blood.

Speaker 3:
[44:04] Yeah. And the police took them. And then I was like, kind of like, okay, now what do I do? Like, I gotta get safe. My phone's gone. I don't know if it was during the fight, or when I was treating him initially in the classroom, but my phone came out of my pocket somehow, and had landed next to the shooter terrorist. They thought it was his phone. The FBI thought it was his phone, and they were going to seize my phone, thinking it was his phone, later on. But yeah, got off the spot, and I found some cadets that were, like, just dazed, you know? It's like, hey, we're going to go into this neighborhood and try to, like, hide out for a little bit. And then, they kind of followed me. And then, I was like, you know what? Actually, come back. Let's go into the parking garage, where we're not in the open. Which was across the street from the building, where all this took place. But I just thought, in my mind, it was the best option to take.

Speaker 2:
[45:27] You just want to breathe her?

Speaker 3:
[45:28] Not even. Just like, get safe. I was, I don't know, it was like autopilot. On the way back to the parking garage, this guy comes up to me. This guy comes up to me, and like I said, I'm covered in blood. Like, there's blood dripping off my fingers. And this guy comes up to me, he's like, hey, I need you to answer some questions. Like, what? What do you mean? He's like, I'm with ODU. I'm an ODU official. I need to answer, I need you to answer some questions. I was like, let me see some ID. Let me see some ID. Because I'm like, who could this guy be? He's like wearing like a, you know, a business outfit kind of thing. He's got some glasses on. I'm like, all right. I take his ID from him. I look at it. I couldn't even see what it said because I'm like, my vision's kind of like this, just a tunnel. And I was like, threw it back at him. I'm like, I'm not answering your questions. And I went and took the guys and the gals inside to the parking garage. At this point, the police are all over it. They saw me and they're like, you're coming with us. Like, we need to talk to you now. Like, what's going on? Tell us. And I'm like, I don't even have a phone. I need to tell my dad. I just need, I need to tell somebody like, hey, this is what happened. And I'm okay because like, and then I need to know like everyone else in the actual ROTC building is okay. I get my dad a quick call off the, the detective's phone. I was like, hey, dad, like, terrorist attack in my classroom. I'm okay. But I need you to get here right now. Like I'm covered in blood. And then we got into like the first statements with the officers there. We were in like the locker room of the, of the football team in the stadium because it's like attached to the parking garage. And that's where that parking garage was. And, yeah, I have this female officer. She was really good. Calm me down and stuff. I'm like, I'm like, like this. Like, I'm just like everything is after me, but I'm okay. It's like a weird. I don't know how to explain it. It's just a weird state of mind that I was in. And I'm like telling her everything that happened. And then like they're like, hey, we're going to get you on a bus and you're going to come with us to the station. The police station in Norfolk covered like we get on to the bus. And we get on the bus and we start driving there. And I was using one of my friends' phones. I was like, giving my dad updates. I was like, hey, dad, like I'm on the way to the police station on. I can't remember what road it was. But just meet me there. And he's just like, all right, son, I'll be there. And we got there and like I'm sitting. They put me, they sit me down in like one of their office chairs, like of like the detectives that work there, the officers that work there. And I'm just sitting there in this like, like this cubicle area. And I'm sitting there and I am just like, I don't even know what is going on. I'm like, just completely out of my mind in terms of like, I don't know how to feel. I don't know what to think. I'm just there. I'm just there. And they start trying to bring in like chaplains and stuff like that. And the Navy chaplain, she took one look at me and literally kept going. Just kept going. Wow. She could see it.

Speaker 2:
[50:23] They didn't clean you up?

Speaker 3:
[50:24] Huh?

Speaker 2:
[50:24] They didn't clean you up?

Speaker 4:
[50:26] No.

Speaker 3:
[50:28] Not at all. Just my hand. They took pictures of my hands. I got to wash my hands. That was it.

Speaker 2:
[50:35] Geez.

Speaker 3:
[50:36] They kept trying to offer me like candy and soda. They brought in some Chick-fil-A. I like Chick-fil-A. That was acceptable.

Speaker 2:
[50:51] You're like, can I get the fucking blood off of me for...

Speaker 3:
[50:54] No, literally... .or I eat? And it's starting to... I was there at the station for seven hours. It was starting to stink.

Speaker 2:
[51:03] You were there for seven hours before you got to clean up?

Speaker 4:
[51:06] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[51:08] Seven and a half, seven hours. They did one interrogation with me.

Speaker 2:
[51:16] An interrogation?

Speaker 3:
[51:16] No, not interrogation, but like, you know, they brought you... brought me in a room, small room with single desk, two chairs on one end, me on the other.

Speaker 2:
[51:27] What are they asking you?

Speaker 3:
[51:28] Asking me what happened.

Speaker 2:
[51:31] Was there cameras in the classroom?

Speaker 3:
[51:33] I don't know. I don't think so. But I think there's cameras in the hallway maybe, in the stairwells. So, but yeah, they're like trying to offer me candy and soda. And I'm like, I'm like, I don't even care. The one officer, he was doing a good job though, talking to me. He was. He's talking me through it. Like, just getting my mind off of it. Like, hey man, like, where do you like to travel? This kind of stuff. It got my mind off of it for a second. And then I'm like right there. I'm right back to, we're right back in it mentally. I'm sitting there, hours, and they're like, what can we get for you? And I'm like, you know what? Like you guys are cops, right? And they're like, yeah. They're like, I was like, can you guys get me some zins or something? Like some kind of nicotine or something? And they're like, yo, get this guy some zins. Like get us some zins. And then they're all like, all the guys that have zins are on the, you know, at the scene right now. The one officer went down to like the Wawa or something nearby and got me a whole can.

Speaker 4:
[52:48] That helped.

Speaker 3:
[52:49] It really did. And some hours, more hours go by. And then they finally, my leadership finally brings us into this small room with the rest of the cadets there from my class and they're like. They said that they had some news. And I was like, oh no. Because I could see the faces of the rest of my leadership behind the one officer that told us was that Colonel Shaw had passed, like at the hospital. And I just couldn't believe it because the last time I had seen him, he was alive and talking. Yeah, so, they broke that news. It was pretty traumatic being there. I'm hearing that.

Speaker 2:
[54:23] Damn, man, I'm sorry.

Speaker 3:
[54:27] Yeah, but, you know, maybe an hour or two more passed, and I was able to get to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. My dad had arranged for treatment for blood exposure there for me and the rest of the guys that had some blood on them. And yeah, we got there, and full blood panel and iodine shower, change of clothes. Chaps came and saw me. Good chaplain too.

Speaker 4:
[55:17] Good guy.

Speaker 3:
[55:22] Um, I didn't get home that night.

Speaker 2:
[55:24] What did he say?

Speaker 3:
[55:25] Chaplain?

Speaker 2:
[55:25] Yeah, I'm just curious. What does a chaplain say to somebody after an event like that?

Speaker 3:
[55:30] He was like, he was like, hey, like, like, kind of like, you know, how are you feeling? Like, really, tell me. Or don't. You don't have to. But tell me, like, talk to me. What are you thinking right now? What's in going through your head? You're like, you know, these are, you know, that what you're feeling is normal. God, God saw, saw you that day, you know, saw you today, kept you safe. What you, you know, what you did and what those guys did, what you guys did, you know, that was, that was the right thing to do.

Speaker 4:
[56:15] You had to do it.

Speaker 3:
[56:18] It's okay to feel what you're feeling. You know.

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Speaker 3:
[59:06] In the hospital, I was really anxious, really stressed out and just really like on high alert. There was a like a kid or like a boy in the room next to me. They like let out a scream as I was getting looked at and I seized up in the bed right before they were literally about to do a blood draw on me. Thank God before, that would have been like really shitty. Yeah, give you know, gives you give some resources, personal phone number. Hey, like, you know, if you feel comfortable talking with me, if it's not, you know, if it's not tomorrow, can be a week from now, a month from now, a year from now, you know, whenever you're ready, if you want to talk, call me. I'll he's like, I'll answer. I thought that was solid. Because it's like, what do you say? Really? What like, what can you say? What do you say? Yeah, I didn't get home that night till like 11 o'clock at night. And that was from 1030 something when the whole thing kicked off. Did not really sleep that night or in the few some nights after. Did not sleep hardly. Didn't get to eat really. My appetite was really messed up. Like the stress or something. I don't know, like this tightness in here. And... Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[61:06] When did you get to talk to your dad for the first time?

Speaker 3:
[61:10] In person. It was at the police station.

Speaker 2:
[61:14] What about in private? When's the first time you got alone time with your dad?

Speaker 3:
[61:18] In the alone time. Just him and I. He's a really busy guy. I mean, on the phone. I had gotten my phone back. Maybe the next day. The next day. And my mom too. My mom. She was like a wreck. I had gotten to talk to her on the phone. It was just too much to kind of like go anywhere or like try to like, hey, like see everybody like, hey, I'm OK. Like I just couldn't. I couldn't like handle. Just being in the car, going around, like trying to see people like my mom or my dad. But yeah, I mean, like. Some days after that, I mean. Some days that followed were really hard. Just like the stress, the not really sleeping, bad dreams, kind of.

Speaker 2:
[62:31] What kind of dreams?

Speaker 3:
[62:33] Just like seeing, just like hearing the classroom and seeing Colonel Shaw's eyes when he was on the ground. They were really big at a part of, like right before he had gone unconscious, his eyes got really big. And when I say I got really, just like really freaked out and really started to get like that moment, that set of eyes, it's like a...

Speaker 2:
[63:03] That's what we plays in your head.

Speaker 3:
[63:04] That, yeah, that. That and doing the first leather belt on his tourniquet. Yeah, didn't have my phone. I was getting like... I was having to communicate like through people, like through their phones. That's... That was rough. And had my... I had an iPad. I have an iPad. I was able to like kind of iMessage call, FaceTime audio call through that.

Speaker 2:
[63:51] How many people were in the classroom? Twenty-eight people?

Speaker 3:
[63:57] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[63:57] And four of you guys took them out?

Speaker 3:
[64:01] Yeah, like the four of us that were hands-on with the terrorists, yes, but then there's another three that helped with aid and stuff like that.

Speaker 2:
[64:10] How long after he yelled, Allah Akbar, did he start shooting?

Speaker 3:
[64:13] Immediately. While he was doing it. While he was shooting.

Speaker 2:
[64:16] So there was, you didn't have time to? Nobody had time to process?

Speaker 3:
[64:20] No, not at all. Zero. Like, no time. It was instantaneous. Damn near. From the confirmation that, yes, this was the ROTC classroom.

Speaker 4:
[64:34] Shit.

Speaker 3:
[64:36] And...

Speaker 2:
[64:37] Did he shoot a Colonel Shaw first?

Speaker 3:
[64:39] Yeah. He was a... Colonel Shaw was the closest guy to him.

Speaker 2:
[64:43] How far? Point blank?

Speaker 3:
[64:46] Six, seven feet.

Speaker 2:
[64:47] That's it?

Speaker 3:
[64:49] I mean, I mean, first, like, I'm telling you, the dimensions of this room is like the same. Like, the door, he... Shooter is, like, the right edge of the American flag. And Colonel Shaw is standing where your portrait is of you in the helicopter.

Speaker 2:
[65:08] Wow. It's about five, five, five, six feet. How many shots did he fire?

Speaker 3:
[65:17] Four, four. Like, Colonel Shaw was... He closed the distance, like, immediately, damn near, and was able to kind of bear hug him to the ground after he had been shot.

Speaker 2:
[65:35] Did he hit him four times?

Speaker 3:
[65:37] Colonel Shaw was only hit once.

Speaker 4:
[65:40] That's...

Speaker 3:
[65:41] Check the whole, his whole body. I only saw, found one gunshot to his leg.

Speaker 2:
[65:50] But a girl got shot?

Speaker 3:
[65:51] She did. She did get shot.

Speaker 2:
[65:53] When did she get shot?

Speaker 3:
[65:55] It must have been in that volley of shots.

Speaker 2:
[65:59] So he wasn't just aiming at Colonel Shaw?

Speaker 3:
[66:01] Well...

Speaker 2:
[66:03] Or somebody ran in front of him?

Speaker 3:
[66:05] No. She was sitting in the general line of fire that hit Colonel Shaw. She was sitting, would have been sitting in the general line of fire of where he was standing because she was in the front row I think in the front row, to my left. It wouldn't have been that much of a gap if you were shooting quickly, to maybe have a stray. I don't know. She was hitting the leg.

Speaker 2:
[66:50] Was anybody else hit?

Speaker 4:
[66:51] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[66:52] Who else?

Speaker 3:
[66:53] Another cadet, a guy, the one with the knife. It was, I don't know if, he must have been shot. He was shot and kept stabbing.

Speaker 2:
[67:05] Where was he shot?

Speaker 3:
[67:07] His belly.

Speaker 2:
[67:08] And the belly?

Speaker 3:
[67:08] And the belly, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[67:10] And he kept going?

Speaker 3:
[67:11] Kept going. Freaking insane.

Speaker 2:
[67:13] Where did you tackle this guy?

Speaker 3:
[67:16] He was on the ground. Like Colonel Shaw was able to bear hug, kind of bring him to the ground. Colonel Shaw, way more sizeable guy than the shooter was. Shooter was not a big guy. Maybe like 5'8, 5'9, but like not like muscular either. Pretty like, like no, no, not strong. He was on the ground when we had gotten there already, and it was just kind of like a beat, beat down. Just punches and elbows and people with knives and some even had a water bottle, like a metal thermos. It was just a...

Speaker 2:
[68:18] Who was heads up enough to put their hand on the slide so that he couldn't shoot anymore?

Speaker 3:
[68:23] What was that?

Speaker 2:
[68:24] Who was heads up enough to put their hand on the top of his weapon on the slide?

Speaker 3:
[68:28] It was me and another cadet on my left.

Speaker 2:
[68:31] Did you know what you were doing? You knew the firearm wouldn't function if you did that?

Speaker 3:
[68:35] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[68:36] It's pretty fucking heads up, man.

Speaker 3:
[68:38] I mean, it's just, I feel like it's kind of like, you know, I've like, I've done a fair amount of shooting and it's like, if that's the main action of the gun, of the pistol. So it's like, and he was trying to, he kept trying to pull the trigger, like he's trying to swing his arm around at me and the guy to my left.

Speaker 2:
[69:01] What are you doing while he is trying to shoot you?

Speaker 3:
[69:05] We're trying, like pushing the gun, like as a team back away, enforcing the muzzle away from our classmates behind us into the wall.

Speaker 2:
[69:16] Is he yelling?

Speaker 3:
[69:17] No. No, he was, he yelled, shot, you know, and like he did not say a word while getting beaten, like at all. He just kind of let out a couple grunts and maybe after a minute, minute and a half, he was gone.

Speaker 2:
[69:39] How many times did you guys stab him? Do you have any idea?

Speaker 3:
[69:45] A lot. It was a lot. It was a lot and it was everywhere.

Speaker 2:
[69:49] It was everywhere.

Speaker 4:
[69:51] Oh, yeah.

Speaker 3:
[69:53] It was a lot. It was everywhere.

Speaker 2:
[69:58] How big of a knife was it? Do you know?

Speaker 3:
[70:01] It's a two, three-incher.

Speaker 2:
[70:03] Little bitty knife.

Speaker 3:
[70:04] Yeah. Two, three-inch knife. Like, you know, it's a college campus. You can't carry, like, knives or guns on campus. Really? They just, you know, a couple of them happened to have one on them. All I had on me that day was my cell phone until I didn't have it on me. I was there to just give my brief. I was just there to give my brief and go on my spring break.

Speaker 2:
[70:42] I mean, you guys eliminated that threat in four fucking minutes with no firearm.

Speaker 4:
[70:53] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[70:55] It was...

Speaker 2:
[70:56] When everyone else ran.

Speaker 3:
[71:00] Yeah. I mean, yeah, I mean, telling them, telling them to run, made them run, I don't know.

Speaker 2:
[71:10] Here's the timeline. 9.40, Mohammed Jilah parks his vehicle on campus with a legally obtained Glock 44.22 caliber firearm. 10.40, an hour later, Jilah enters, Constant Hall navigates to the ROTC classroom. 10.43, Jilah enters the classroom, asks, is this the ROTC class? Upon confirmation, shouts, Allah Akbar, and opens fire. That's at 10.43. 10.43 to 10.47, Jilah fires multiple rounds, fatally wounding Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shaw and injuring two ROTC cadets. ROTC cadets immediately engage, overcome shooter through physical force. 10.43, first emergency call placed, reporting active shooter. 10.47, police arrive on campus. Four minutes after the first call to determine the shooter is deceased. Yeah. That means he died well before 10.47. Shots started at 10.43. 10.48, run high-fight alert, issued to campus, lockdown protocols initiated. 12.10, all clear, issued, campus declared safe. That is un-fucking-real that you guys, in less than four minutes, were able to kill that dude. It was...

Speaker 3:
[72:39] The team......you guys. The team, it was unbelievable how fluid and cohesive we worked on, on, in doing this.

Speaker 2:
[72:57] Was that instinct?

Speaker 3:
[73:00] See, I don't know. Maybe, probably, most, probably, mostly instinct and maybe some training. I'm not sure. Like, there was no thinking involved. I don't recall ever. I don't, I don't think there was any, any, like, time during the course of, you know, those few minutes where I was, like, deliberating over what I should do. It was just doing. And I think the rest, I think that goes for the rest of those guys. And, yeah, they, I mean, this, the team, it really is, like...

Speaker 2:
[74:01] Do you know how heroic that is? Is that even registering yet?

Speaker 3:
[74:06] It's partially-ish. It comes and goes kind of like with the incident in a way. Kind of still, you know, some days, I'm like, okay, I thought I've come to, maybe I've come to terms with it. And then other days, I'm like... Like, what the, I still am like, what the heck is even going on? What even happened? And I think that, you know, I think that...

Speaker 2:
[74:34] You charged a terrorist that was killing people with... You charged him with no weapon.

Speaker 3:
[74:41] All of us, or most of us, with no weapon, yeah. Not even a knife.

Speaker 2:
[74:49] And eliminated him in less than four minutes.

Speaker 4:
[74:55] I...

Speaker 3:
[74:56] Like I said, it's...

Speaker 2:
[74:57] You know how many people would have been killed if it wasn't for you four?

Speaker 3:
[75:02] Uh, they say, you know, it would have been more.

Speaker 2:
[75:06] Did he have more magazines on him?

Speaker 3:
[75:09] Maybe one other? I know the one cadet, he did... He cleared the... It was fully loaded. At least the one mag was fully loaded. I don't know how much... How many rounds were in that mag, but... Yeah, the university president... He said this. University president Hemphill. He... had called me personally after I'd gotten this, like, really weird email... from some, like, associate assistant to the vice president of, like, the Student Conduct Committee.

Speaker 2:
[75:59] What did that email say?

Speaker 3:
[76:04] Along the lines of, uh... Hey, Samuel, just want to let you know, uh... ODU doesn't have any intention of pressing charges against you in accordance with, like, the student code of conduct.

Speaker 2:
[76:18] Pressing charges against you? The ODU hasn't... doesn't have any intentions of pressing charges against you after you killed a fucking terrorist that killed a professor?

Speaker 3:
[76:29] That's what the e-mail said. I woke up one morning...

Speaker 2:
[76:32] What is... What the fuck does that even mean?

Speaker 3:
[76:34] This is... Yeah, I don't know. And he's... And it was, like, uh, you know, no intention of pressing charges in accordance with the student code of conduct for the actions you took personally that day.

Speaker 2:
[76:45] Oh, gee, thank you.

Speaker 3:
[76:46] Yeah. I woke up that one morning at, like, 8.30 in the morning. I slept on the couch, you know. Maybe it's been four or five days since the shooting. Look at my phone, immediately screenshot it. I sent it out to my dad and some of my, like, mentors from, like, when I was active duty. And they were like, what in the hell is that?

Speaker 2:
[77:11] Can I have that screenshot?

Speaker 3:
[77:12] Yeah, you can. I'll give it to you. Thank you. Yeah, I think it was like a rogue, it was a rogue email, like a, we know what you did kind of thing, I don't know.

Speaker 2:
[77:25] We know what you did?

Speaker 3:
[77:27] The, my phone and the other.

Speaker 2:
[77:29] Saved an entire fucking classroom.

Speaker 3:
[77:31] That's what you did. This is so, the university president was alerted of this, that this happened. And within a couple of hours, he called me personally and was like, I'm so sorry that ever got sent to you. Don't even like, no words, but I'm sorry. And what you and those guys did, you guys are warriors, you're heroes. And then he shared a personal anecdote with me about his time when he was at Illinois University or Southern Illinois University in 2008. There was a shooting there, apparently. I didn't know this until he told me. He was there as like a dean or something or vice president of the university. And in a classroom of 150, a lone gunman came in and shot or killed like 19 or 24. And nobody stood up to this guy. So he called me to tell me thank you and God bless you and keep in touch. And he wants to make it right. He wanted to make it right. And his number two, her and I started corresponding. This is where I made this group chat for the guys that, us guys that stayed back in the room. Just to talk about, hey, how's everyone doing? How's everyone feeling? I named it Fucking Warriors. That's the name of the group chat. But the university president wanted to take us out to dinner. He said, anywhere you want. Anywhere you guys want to agree on a spot, let's go. So we chose a really, really, like, expensive steakhouse. And that the Monday, it was the day after the funeral we all went. And we, like, broke Brad fellowship together. He wanted to get eyes on every single one of us.

Speaker 4:
[79:53] But, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[79:54] So it should be.

Speaker 3:
[79:55] Good, amazing leader. I mean, amazing. And it wasn't even, like, bureaucratic or anything. It was just real.

Speaker 2:
[80:05] Good.

Speaker 3:
[80:06] Like, you know, it wasn't, like, a check the box. Like, hey, I saw these guys.

Speaker 4:
[80:11] It was like.

Speaker 3:
[80:13] It was like person to person. And he heard our I mean, he even heard our complaints or suggestions.

Speaker 2:
[80:26] What were your suggestions?

Speaker 3:
[80:29] Oh, man. You know, increasing security. Colonel Shaw, he had been there a few couple of years or three, two or three years at this point. And he had grown like the the ROTC population from I don't know what amount, but to over a hundred some. And I had had been corresponding with his aid and or maybe she's the vice president. I'm not sure, but I said to him, I was like, you know, if you know, what kind of security measures are we going to put in place for our ROTC populations clear, you know, after this clearly, you know, targeted? What are we going to do? Because if you don't, and if you don't help people feel safe, then the growth that Colonel Shaw did for the program will be cut in half because people are not going to feel safe and want to show up and they will just disenroll. He had already was like, hey, Virginia State Police, ODU PD, they're going to be out in force every training event there before you guys show up to after they'll be there watching, so all right. The first football game this coming fall semester, home game, everybody, every football player on ODU's team is going to be wearing camouflage with Colonel Shaw's name on the back. They're going to do an Apache flyover prior to the kickoff. Colonel Shaw was Apache pilot. He loved Apaches and Army Aviation. Renaming a building, commemorating the part of the stadium where Colonel Shaw always liked to stand and hang out next to his 105 howitzer that we got to shoot off for the games.

Speaker 2:
[82:58] Nice.

Speaker 3:
[82:59] I love those names, commemorating it as like Shaw's Corner, stuff like that.

Speaker 2:
[83:03] Do you think this could have been prevented?

Speaker 3:
[83:07] I think so.

Speaker 4:
[83:09] How so?

Speaker 3:
[83:11] I think, you know, I think that the law maybe isn't as strict as it needs to be on individuals who have prior convictions and associations with terrorist organizations, for sure.

Speaker 2:
[83:45] One way it could have been preventative is if they wouldn't have released him from fucking prison two and a half years early.

Speaker 3:
[83:53] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[83:53] What do you think this guy's motivation was, Mohamed? What do you think his motivation was?

Speaker 4:
[83:59] Just hate. Hate?

Speaker 3:
[84:01] Hate and hate and evil.

Speaker 2:
[84:05] Let me give you a radicalization timeline. Do you mind if I do that?

Speaker 3:
[84:11] Sure. I'm not familiar. I'm not sure.

Speaker 2:
[84:14] Here's a radicalization timeline for Mohamed Jalab. 2009 to 2015. Serves honorably in the Army National Guard, becomes troubled personal life relationship breakup, substance abuse, things like that. In 2015, he quits the National Guard after listening to online lectures from deceased Al-Qaeda cleragic Anwar Al-Kawali. July 2015 to January 2016. Travels to Sierra Leone in Nigeria, makes contact with Islamic State members, views extremist propaganda. Early 2016, contacted by ISIS, a virtual plotter, online operative who encouraged attack planning, told the FBI he wanted to conduct an attack similar to the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people. July 3, 2016, arrested after a three-month FBI sting operation, attempted to purchase an AR-15 rifle, and tried to donate $500 to ISIS. October 2016, pleads guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

Speaker 4:
[85:50] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[85:52] I didn't know you couldn't donate to ISIS. The US government sends $40 to $87 million every fucking week to the Taliban. Did you know that?

Speaker 3:
[86:05] I've heard about this.

Speaker 2:
[86:06] This is where that flag's from.

Speaker 3:
[86:07] We've read about it.

Speaker 2:
[86:08] The Taliban was burning that flag in Afghanistan, and the man that uncovered the fact that the US government is sending $40 to $87 million fucking dollars a week to the Taliban, which is going to training people like Muhammad Jalal to come here and fucking kill our people. Our US government's funding that. I just want everybody to know that the US government is funding fucking terrorism. Okay, so let me go down this timeline a little bit more. Prison record and early release. Sentenced February 10th, 2017 to 11 years in a federal prison plus five years supervised release. Prosecutors recommended 20 years. He only served eight and a half years. Transferred to a halfway house. A halfway house. He's in prison for pleads guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS. So they send him to a fucking halfway house.

Speaker 3:
[87:20] Honestly, I don't even know what a halfway house is.

Speaker 2:
[87:22] A halfway house is for addicts.

Speaker 4:
[87:24] Oh.

Speaker 2:
[87:25] That's what a halfway house is.

Speaker 4:
[87:27] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[87:28] So they send him to a fucking halfway house. Released on December 23rd, 2024, approximately two and a half years early. Reason for early release? Completed a RDAP, a Residential Drug Abuse Program. Despite having no drug convictions, only terrorism convictions, federal law prohibits violent offenders from early release via RDAP. This was a legal loophole. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has since closed the loophole in 2025. It's just so it was preventable. I mean, had they not let a fucking terrorist out of prison two and a half years early on a fucking RDAP, Residential Drug Abuse Program, why the fuck would you release a terrorist, a fucking terrorist two and a half years early on a residential drug abuse program? Whoever the fuck did that needs to go to prison.

Speaker 3:
[88:40] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[88:41] Along with every member of the US government that's sending 40 to 87 million fucking dollars a week to terrorists to train Mohammed Jallah to come to ODU and fucking kill your professor. God rest his soul.

Speaker 3:
[89:00] It's rough.

Speaker 2:
[89:01] That's the reality of this. Thank God for people like you and your fucking comrades.

Speaker 3:
[89:17] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[89:18] Still some real Americans left in this country.

Speaker 3:
[89:21] We just wanna do our best.

Speaker 2:
[89:24] I know, man.

Speaker 3:
[89:25] And...

Speaker 2:
[89:26] This shit just pisses me off because it is fucking preventable.

Speaker 3:
[89:30] Yeah, I mean...

Speaker 2:
[89:30] That piece of shit not been released two and a half years early on a fucking drug rehab program, this wouldn't have happened. If they would have taken the fucking shit seriously, that this guy was actively helping ISIS, wanted to be an ISIS... Was an ISIS member, went overseas to train, to look at...

Speaker 3:
[89:55] Whatever kind of material to...

Speaker 2:
[89:59] And we fund it. We fund this shit. How fucking crazy is that? You don't have to be Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill to make a powerful point. You just need to understand how to use your words. That's exactly what Hillsdale College is teaching in their new free course, Classical Logic and Rhetoric. In this course, a Hillsdale professor walks you through how to actually think clearly and make sound arguments, not just opinions, but reasoning that holds up. You'll learn how to refine your thinking, how to structure valid arguments, and how to speak more persuasively using rhetoric. And it's not just this course. Hillsdale offers more than 40 free online courses covering everything from the Constitution to World War II to the rise and fall of the Roman Republic. If you care about thinking clearly, communicating better, and making stronger decisions, this is well worth your time. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/srs to enroll. There's no cost and it's easy to get started. That's hillsdale.edu/srs to enroll for free.

Speaker 5:
[91:17] Hi, I'm Sarah Adams, the host of Vigilance Elite's The Watch Floor, where we highlight what matters. It became a permissive state. Explain to you why it matters, and then aim to leave you feeling better informed than you were before you hit play. Terrorists, hostile intelligence agencies, organized crime, not everything is urgent. But this show will focus on what is need to know, not just what is nice to know.

Speaker 3:
[91:56] You know, it's hard to conceptualize that especially because, you know, being a soldier, wanting to defend the country. It's hard, it's difficult.

Speaker 2:
[92:31] The country's still worth defending, Sam.

Speaker 3:
[92:34] I believe that 100-

Speaker 2:
[92:34] Politicians are not. They are not worth defending.

Speaker 3:
[92:41] Yeah, politics isn't really, it's hard to keep up for me. I stay in my lane. I just wanna take care of the people around me. Get care of my soldiers.

Speaker 2:
[93:03] You're a good man.

Speaker 3:
[93:10] Yeah, the lawmakers.

Speaker 2:
[93:13] You don't have to say anything, man.

Speaker 3:
[93:18] It's hard to talk about, even though I'm not representing the Army in an official capacity, it's hard to talk about those facts, about what the government funds.

Speaker 2:
[93:35] It's not the Army's fault, man.

Speaker 3:
[93:37] I know it's not.

Speaker 2:
[93:37] That's our politicians. You know what they want to do? They want to sit on X and bat this shit back and forth like it's some fucking political campaign and not do a fucking thing about it. And now we have terrorist attacks happening in our fucking country that we're funding. And I've been saying this shit was going to happen for fucking years, along with a whole slew of other people.

Speaker 3:
[94:00] I was in the police station and I saw on the TV that day that the, it's like a church or something in Michigan had gotten attacked that day, too. And then there was another one in Belgium, I think.

Speaker 2:
[94:16] Yep.

Speaker 3:
[94:16] That same day. I think that was all the same day.

Speaker 4:
[94:23] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[94:27] I love my country. I love the people in it. I love the Army.

Speaker 4:
[94:39] Good.

Speaker 3:
[94:41] You know, it has its ups and downs. Like anything. Enacting change. Enacting change within the organizations that I'm a part of is what I want to do.

Speaker 2:
[95:01] What are you doing for yourself right now? The shit can creep up on you.

Speaker 3:
[95:07] Yeah. Staying active. Talking to my mentors, my friends, my leadership from when I was at prior service.

Speaker 2:
[95:20] Have any of them killed anyone before?

Speaker 4:
[95:23] They have. Um, yeah.

Speaker 3:
[95:29] And, uh...

Speaker 2:
[95:30] Are they walking you through that?

Speaker 3:
[95:33] Yeah. They are. Uh, honestly, the terrorist is not... That whole part of the sequence... It doesn't really bother me at all.

Speaker 2:
[95:49] Good.

Speaker 3:
[95:50] Like, at all. It's the... It's Colonel Shaw and taking care of him.

Speaker 2:
[95:57] That's the survivor skill.

Speaker 3:
[95:58] That's the thing.

Speaker 4:
[95:59] Those...

Speaker 3:
[96:00] That part of it is... That's the hard part for me, is that part.

Speaker 2:
[96:09] Do you think you could have done something differently?

Speaker 3:
[96:12] Who, me?

Speaker 4:
[96:13] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[96:14] There was nothing to do different.

Speaker 2:
[96:17] You did everything you could, Maneuver.

Speaker 3:
[96:19] We all did. Like, the team... There was nothing else better I don't think we could have done. We had what we had, and we made use of it.

Speaker 2:
[96:35] So, what is tripping you up about that? The experience itself? Or what do you feel guilt about?

Speaker 3:
[96:43] Um, no, it's not so much... It was guilt in the beginning, but now it's more... It's just the sadness. Like, uh, in the funeral, I had seen him before they shut the casket. They did like a final viewing, uh, that day. And, uh... Just like seeing somebody you were taking care of alive and talking to the opposite and laying in uniform in a casket. And that's, it's just getting through that mentally. That's the thing. That's the hard part for me and the family, his wife and his son. He loved his son.

Speaker 2:
[97:52] How old's his son?

Speaker 3:
[97:53] I think he's like 10.

Speaker 2:
[97:55] Fuck, man.

Speaker 3:
[97:59] He was an amazing father, I know that. Amazing father, amazing husband. Very big leadership void without him there. Really good representative of the Army to the university. Yeah, that's the hard part. In the funeral, the flag, the flag pass, you know, to the spouse. And watching her carry it out. And when it was being handed to her, the, I guess, the coordinating officer, who, like, I guess, you know, was in charge of the funeral, who passed, gives the flag, he, like, leaned over, and his hat fell off, his cap onto the ground. And that was a lot, seeing that.

Speaker 2:
[99:17] It's hard, man. I've been to a lot of those, especially where you see their kids running around.

Speaker 3:
[99:24] The kid.

Speaker 2:
[99:25] And they just want to know what the hell is going on and when is my dad coming home. He's not.

Speaker 3:
[99:33] No. And... Yeah, I saw, like, a tweet. It was, like... I don't know how many months spent overseas, but many, many months overseas to just die at home. That was something that stuck with me, just seeing that. It's like a tweet or something.

Speaker 2:
[99:59] Sam, you gotta stay ahead of this man, this stuff. It can creep up on you. Yeah. It takes a long time to cycle through all the emotions.

Speaker 3:
[100:09] Trying my best. This is my first time going through something like this.

Speaker 2:
[100:16] Hopefully, it's your last.

Speaker 3:
[100:17] Last time, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[100:21] Are you in therapy?

Speaker 3:
[100:22] No, not in therapy.

Speaker 2:
[100:24] Are you gonna start?

Speaker 3:
[100:27] Probably not, no.

Speaker 4:
[100:30] Why?

Speaker 3:
[100:34] Because I think there's other ways of doing self-therapy. I like going out into the garden. I find it therapeutic to talk with my friends or mentors that I really trust about it. Therapeutic, for sure, to do that. And, you know, a chaplain, eventually. I think I see that, but right now, no.

Speaker 2:
[101:12] Well, as long as you're not internalizing it all, that's a good thing.

Speaker 3:
[101:14] No, definitely not internalizing it. I'm not bottling it up. I was one of those people back when I was like a little young teenager. I know it's not the right way.

Speaker 4:
[101:30] So.

Speaker 2:
[101:32] Well, when we wrap this up, I'm going to give you my contact info. If you need anything, anything.

Speaker 3:
[101:40] I appreciate it, Shawn.

Speaker 2:
[101:41] Hit me up. I've been through just about every fucking healing avenue you can imagine. So.

Speaker 3:
[101:48] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[101:49] I could at least point you in a couple of directions.

Speaker 3:
[101:51] Yeah. I really appreciate that.

Speaker 2:
[101:54] You listen to the show.

Speaker 3:
[101:56] I do. A lot. Like hours and hours.

Speaker 2:
[102:01] A lot of avenues. And a lot of mentors that would love to help you out, man. And your comrades, which I can't wait to meet them. I hope I do.

Speaker 4:
[102:14] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[102:17] They would love to meet you.

Speaker 2:
[102:20] Open invite anytime you guys want to come out. We'll fly you up there. We'll put you up. We'll set it up.

Speaker 3:
[102:30] Thank you, Shawn.

Speaker 2:
[102:30] My pleasure.

Speaker 3:
[102:33] Yeah. Through all of this, through all of this, I got called by somebody. It's like somebody just trying to reach out. And they were like, hey, like, you know, are you thinking about getting out now? Or like, you know, trying to get some disability?

Speaker 4:
[102:55] It's like, no.

Speaker 2:
[102:58] Good for you.

Speaker 3:
[102:59] No, I want to be, I want to, I want to serve even more.

Speaker 2:
[103:07] Good for you, man.

Speaker 4:
[103:08] So...

Speaker 2:
[103:12] Is there anything you want to say to your comrades, your fellow cadets, that you haven't yet?

Speaker 3:
[103:22] Maybe if I forgot to, but I'm proud of them. I'm proud and thankful for every single one of them. If I didn't, there it is.

Speaker 2:
[103:40] Is there anything you want to say to the Colonel, Colonel Shaw?

Speaker 3:
[103:59] I miss you, man. I do. You know, even through everything, like not seeing that eye, I miss you. And I hope you know I tried my best, we tried our best, the team.

Speaker 2:
[104:29] Do you want to tell his son what kind of man he was?

Speaker 3:
[104:32] What was that?

Speaker 2:
[104:32] Do you want to tell his 10-year-old son what kind of man he was?

Speaker 3:
[104:38] Yeah. His dad, your dad. He loved you so much. We all knew that as a class and we never even met him. And I met his son and everything, I think everything he did was for his son and same for his wife.

Speaker 2:
[105:16] Well, man, we're wrapping up the interview, but I got you one last present.

Speaker 3:
[105:24] What's this then?

Speaker 2:
[105:30] You're a Catholic, you'll know what that is.

Speaker 3:
[105:31] It's rosary.

Speaker 4:
[105:33] Thank you.

Speaker 2:
[105:42] You know who Dom Rozo is?

Speaker 3:
[105:44] Yeah, I met him.

Speaker 2:
[105:46] You met Dom?

Speaker 3:
[105:49] Yeah. Yeah, when I was a high schooler, I worked at this restaurant down in Portsmouth, Virginia, beer garden. He frequented there a lot with his family. I'm not like short, kind of big beard.

Speaker 2:
[106:13] That's Dom.

Speaker 3:
[106:16] Yeah, I met him when I was like 16. He's got the knives, the knives and stuff. Yeah, this is sweet. Is this from him?

Speaker 2:
[106:28] Well, yes. Dom has those made, those rosaries, and he calls them the Warrior Rosary. And so I thought, when you told me you were Catholic earlier off camera, I thought, oh man, I've got to give him one of these things.

Speaker 3:
[106:45] Yeah, like, I'm not even kidding. Like, I've served his family as like a teenager.

Speaker 2:
[106:51] Wow. Small world.

Speaker 3:
[106:53] Yeah, that's crazy.

Speaker 2:
[106:55] Small world.

Speaker 3:
[106:56] Yeah, he's an awesome guy. I had met him. He was, it was a Sunday, I think. And he had taken his family to church and he was getting a meal after church and he was just talking, he was just talking to me. I was just a teen, like a teenager. I wasn't even joining the Army or anything at that point.

Speaker 2:
[107:15] Right on, man. That's a great dude. Well, I thought you might like that.

Speaker 3:
[107:22] I do. I really.

Speaker 2:
[107:23] I carry one with me everywhere I go. I think that rosary brings a lot of protection and maybe he'll carry it too.

Speaker 3:
[107:31] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[107:32] And so I thought maybe we could end this with a prayer that you lead for Colonel Shaw and his family.

Speaker 3:
[107:50] God, thank you for bringing us here today, keeping us safe, you know, that day on March 12th, it's a really bad day. And, you know, I pray that you see Colonel Shaw's family and protect them and bring them as many blessings as you can. And that you bring his son into your arms and keep him safe. Amen.

Speaker 2:
[108:58] Mind if I add a little bit?

Speaker 3:
[108:59] Of course.

Speaker 2:
[109:02] And, Jesus, I just would like to add that I just want to say thank you for Sam and his comrades for standing up in the face of fear that day. Because if they hadn't, who knows how many lives would be gone with Colonel Shaw. It's men like that that make this a great country. And I also just want to say, please be with Colonel Shaw's family. They're gonna need you more than anyone right now in these times. And never forget. Amen.

Speaker 4:
[109:48] Amen. Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[109:55] Thank you, man. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2:
[109:56] Like I said, man, anything you need, reach out.

Speaker 3:
[110:02] I really appreciate it.

Speaker 2:
[110:03] Proud of you, man.

Speaker 3:
[110:08] Really appreciate it, Shawn. Thank you.

Speaker 2:
[110:10] It's an honor. It's a real honor, man. Cheers. No matter where you're watching The Shawn Ryan Show from, if you get anything out of this at all, anything, please like, comment and subscribe. And most importantly, share this everywhere you possibly can. And if you're feeling extra generous, head to Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review.