University of Nevada Las Vegas Shooter
LAS VEGAS — The man suspected of fatally shooting three people and wounding another at a Las Vegas university Wednesday was a professor who unsuccessfully sought a job at the school, a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
The gunman was killed in a shootout with law enforcement, police said. The attack at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, sent shock waves through a city still scarred by the deaths of 60 people in a 2017 mass shooting.
The suspect previously worked at East Carolina University in North Carolina. The officials identified the man as Anthony Polito, 67, who was fatally shot by police following a confrontation outside the university. Law enforcement officials said the job application for UNLV professor was from 2020 and a specific motive for the shooting is unclear.
Reports of shots fired at about 11:45 a.m. sent police swarming onto the campus while students and professors barricaded themselves inside classrooms and dorm rooms.
Police said the shooting started on the fourth floor of the building that houses UNLV's Lee Business School. The gunman went to several floors before he was killed in a shootout with two university detectives outside the building, said UNLV Police Chief Adam Garcia.
Authorities gave the all-clear about 40 minutes after the first report of an active shooter.
NORTH’s Security Operations Center (SOC) Timeline of UNLV Active Shooter
1145 hours - Reports of shots fired at UNLV
1158 hours - NORTH SOC is made aware of the situation and notify nearby clients
1212 hours - Major news media begins reporting on the situation
1218 hours - Students are being asked to shelter in place
1230 hours - Additional units are requested to the university
1231 hours - Officers confirm there are three victims
1232 hours - A fourth person is injured, according to police
1237 hours - Additional 911 callers are reporting gunshots are being fired
1249 hours - Suspect located and killed
1254 hours - SWAT is on scene and aiding investigation
1320 hours - NBC reports the FBI assisting local police at UNLV’s campus
The GOLD Standard
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