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Coordinates: 36°06′28″N 115°08′38″W / 36.10779°N 115.14376°W / 36.10779; -115.14376
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==Background==
==Background==
The Frank and Estella Beam Hall is one of University of Nevada, Las Vegas' instructional buildings and the primary building for the [[Lee Business School]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/unlv-shooting-las-vegas-live-updates-rcna128402/rcrd27350?canonicalCard=true |title=Beam Hall is one of the campus' primary classroom buildings |date=December 6, 2023 |last=Li |first=David |publisher=[[NBC News]] |access-date=December 6, 2023}}</ref> The shooting occurred about {{convert|3|mi|0|spell=in}} from the [[Mandalay Bay]] casino, which was the site of the [[2017 Las Vegas shooting|2017 mass shooting]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=Trevor |last2=Carless |first2=Will |last3=Nguyen |first3=Thao |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Tears, frantic texts: Survivors of Las Vegas campus shooting recount trauma and tragedy |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/07/university-of-nevada-las-vegas-campus-shooting-community/71832667007/ |access-date=December 7, 2023 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>
The Frank and Estella Beam Hall is one of University of Nevada, Las Vegas' instructional buildings and the primary building for the [[Lee Business School]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/unlv-shooting-las-vegas-live-updates-rcna128402/rcrd27350?canonicalCard=true |title=Beam Hall is one of the campus' primary classroom buildings |date=December 6, 2023 |last=Li |first=David |publisher=[[NBC News]] |access-date=December 6, 2023}}</ref> The shooting occurred about {{convert|3|mi|0|spell=in}} from the [[Mandalay Bay]] casino, which in October 2017, was the site of [[2017 Las Vegas shooting|the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=Trevor |last2=Carless |first2=Will |last3=Nguyen |first3=Thao |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Tears, frantic texts: Survivors of Las Vegas campus shooting recount trauma and tragedy |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/07/university-of-nevada-las-vegas-campus-shooting-community/71832667007/ |access-date=December 7, 2023 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>


==Shooting==
==Shooting==

Revision as of 17:20, 11 December 2023

University of Nevada, Las Vegas shooting
Part of mass shootings in the United States and school shootings in the United States
The Frank and Estella Beam Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the scene of the shooting
Map
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150m
160yds
1
LocationUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas
Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Coordinates36°06′28″N 115°08′38″W / 36.10779°N 115.14376°W / 36.10779; -115.14376
DateDecember 6, 2023; 7 months ago (2023-12-06)
c. 11:45 a.m. - 11:55 a.m. PST
Attack type
School shooting, mass shooting
Weapon9mm Taurus handgun[1]
Deaths4 (including the perpetrator)
Injured3
PerpetratorAnthony Polito

On December 6, 2023, a shooting occurred at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Three people were killed, and three additional people were wounded. Two of the wounded were police officers. The perpetrator was killed in a shootout with police.

The incident occurred the day after another shooting in Austin, Texas, which left 6 dead.

Background

The Frank and Estella Beam Hall is one of University of Nevada, Las Vegas' instructional buildings and the primary building for the Lee Business School.[2] The shooting occurred about three miles (5 km) from the Mandalay Bay casino, which in October 2017, was the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.[3]

Shooting

The shooter, Tony Polito, arrived at the University of Nevada campus at around 11:30 and was armed with a legally purchased Taurus 9mm handgun and 11 loaded magazines.[4][5] At 11:45 a.m. PST, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a call about a shooter in the Frank and Estella Beam Hall.[6] Officers reportedly entered the hall after about a minute from the first 911 call.[5] The shooter reportedly started on the fourth floor of the hall and made his way down several other floors.[3] A witness in the hall said that he and others were confused after an alarm went off in the building, but evacuated after hearing someone scream "there's a gun".[7]

Eight minutes later, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas posted a Twitter message that police were responding to reports of gunshots, warning students at the Beam Hall to "evacuate to a safe area." Approximately twenty minutes later, the university reported additional gunshots at the Student Union building.[8]

At around 11:55 Polito exited the building and was confronted by police.[9] The shooter was killed during a shootout with police.[10][11]

Victims

Three faculty members were killed and another faculty member was wounded during the shooting.[12][13] Two of those killed were faculty members at the Lee Business School: Patricia Navarro-Velez, aged 39, and Cha Jan (Jerry) Chang, aged 64. The third victim, Naoko Takemaru, aged 69, was an associate professor of Japanese Studies at UNLV's College of Liberal Arts.[14]

The wounded faculty member was identified as a 38-year-old visiting professor who was downgraded from critical to life threatening the day after the attack.[9] Two police officers sustained minor wounds during a shootout with the perpetrator.[15] Some people were also treated after suffering panic attacks.[16]

Perpetrator

Anthony Polito (September 1956 – December 6, 2023) was identified as the shooter. He was raised in North Carolina and had served as a tenured associate professor of business at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina from 2001 to 2017. Afterward, Polito flew to Nevada where he also served later on as an adjunct professor of business at Roseman University of Health Sciences in Henderson, Nevada from 2018 to 2022. He had applied to be a professor at various schools throughout Nevada, including the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but all his applications were unsuccessful.[9] According to his former employers, Polito resigned from East Carolina University as a tenured assistant professor, and lost his job at Roseman when the school discontinued the program in which he taught.[17]

Polito began working as a business professor in 1992 at East Carolina, but left for Georgia two years later. Polito then began working under the same roles at both University of Georgia from 1994 until 1999, and the University of Northern Iowa from 1999 until 2001 when Polito returned back to East Carolina.[18]

Polito maintained a "target list" of people against whom he was seeking retribution, included colleagues from his former employer, East Carolina University.[4] Police later confirmed that none of the victims of the shooting were on the "target list".[19]

Past students at East Carolina claimed that he fixated on negative reviews by students and would claim to know who they were and point out specific seats in the classroom.[9] Polito was very active on social media, with online writings showing an interest in Las Vegas and conspiracy theories. He posted to his personal website conspiracy theories focusing on Powerful Organizations Bent on Global Domination, with the Trilateral Commission being an example of one such organization.[5]

Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting local police. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, University Police Services, the United States Marshals Service, and the FBI are investigating the shooting.[20] An investigation of his apartment found ammunition and an eviction notice, and removed several computers and hard drive components. About two dozen letters were identified as mailed by Polito shortly before the shooting to multiple university personnel across the country. Some of the letters were identified as containing harmless white powder, such as talc.[5][21]

Aftermath

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas established a reunification center in the north hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center[22] and an emergency hotline.[23] Administrators canceled classes for the rest of the week after the shooting and began a conversation about how to proceed with finals that had been set to start the week after the shooting.[3] By December 8, UNLV President Keith Whitfield had announced that in person classes for the rest of 2023 and the semester finals were canceled, due to the physical and emotional trauma that the campus had suffered.[24]

The College of Southern Nevada closed its campuses.[25] Interstate 15 was closed to allow access for first responders.[26] The UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball game against the Dayton Flyers was canceled.[27] A ground stop was issued at nearby Harry Reid International Airport due to a security incident.[28]

Reactions

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the federal government was monitoring the shooting. President Joe Biden was previously scheduled to visit Las Vegas days later.[29] The Mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman, called the shooting "tragic and heartbreaking" in a tweet, stating that she was "praying for everyone on campus as law enforcement responds to the situation."[30] Senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto urged constituents to avoid the area.[31]

The president of the American Association of University Professors, Irene Mulvey, issued a statement mourning the victims who died in "senseless violence", and calling for gun reform. This statement was echoed by the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, as well as the Nevada Faculty Alliance. They decried the violence and called for gun reform.[24]

References

  1. ^ Gorman, Steve (December 8, 2023). "Las Vegas campus gunman described as struggling academic with 'target list'". Reuters.
  2. ^ Li, David (December 6, 2023). "Beam Hall is one of the campus' primary classroom buildings". NBC News. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Hughes, Trevor; Carless, Will; Nguyen, Thao (December 7, 2023). "Tears, frantic texts: Survivors of Las Vegas campus shooting recount trauma and tragedy". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Roberts, Alyssa (December 7, 2023). "Sheriff: UNLV gunman had list of targets, brought handgun and 11 magazines to campus". Channel 13 Las Vegas News KTNV. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Wolfe, Elizabeth; Romine, Taylor; Croft, Jay (December 8, 2023). "Details emerge about UNLV gunman who killed 3 faculty members as investigators search for his motive. Here's what we know". CNN. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Jiménez, Jesus (December 6, 2023). "Shooter Injures 3 at U.N.L.V., Then Dies After Confrontation With Police". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  7. ^ Lee, Jaclyn (December 7, 2023). "'Oh God, this is real': UNLV student describes being at 'ground zero' of campus shooting". ABC News. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  8. ^ Yousif, Nadine (December 6, 2023). "UNLV shooting: Police respond to active shooting on Las Vegas campus". BBC News. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Finley, Ken; Yamat, Rio (December 7, 2023). "UNLV gunman had list of targets at the university and 150 rounds of ammunition, police say". AP News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  10. ^ Cohen, Rebecca; Blankstein, Andrew (December 6, 2023). "Las Vegas police say the suspect has died". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  11. ^ Bleakley, Caroline; Overton, Stephanie (December 6, 2023). "3 dead, 1 in stable condition after shooting on UNLV campus, suspect dead". KLAS. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  12. ^ Margolin, Josh; Shapiro, Emily; Pereira, Ivan (December 6, 2023). "UNLV shooting: At least 3 fatalities: Source". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  13. ^ "All UNLV shooting victims were faculty members, university says". KCRA. December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "All three victims of campus shooting identified as UNLV professors". KTNV-TV. December 7, 2023.
  15. ^ "Victims have been transported to local hospitals, police say". CNN. December 6, 2023. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  16. ^ Byon, Irene; Cohen, Rebecca (December 6, 2023). "Sunrise Hospital Trauma Center received 1 patient from UNLV shooting". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  17. ^ Verastigue, Justine (December 6, 2023). "What we know about Anthony Polito, the deceased UNLV gunman". KTNV-TV.
  18. ^ "Tony Polito's Microsoft Word on his associate professor career (1992-2017)" (PDF). Microsoft. December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  19. ^ Yamat, Rio; Finley, Ben (December 7, 2023). "UNLV gunman had list of targets at the university and 150 rounds of ammunition, police say". AP News. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  20. ^ Cohen, Rebecca (December 6, 2023). "Las Vegas Metro Police and University Police Services handling shooting investigation". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  21. ^ Deliso, Meredith; Stone, Alex; Starr, Alyssa (December 8, 2023). "Suspect in UNLV shooting had more than 150 rounds of ammunition: Police". ABC News. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  22. ^ Cohen, Rebecca; Li, David (December 6, 2023). "UNLV setting up reunification center for students". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  23. ^ Arkin, Daniel (December 6, 2023). "Emergency hotline set up after UNLV shooting". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Shermele, Zachary; Nurse, Krystal; Collins, Michael; Arshad, Minnah (December 8, 2023). "Third victim ID'd in UNLV shooting as college professors decry 'national menace'". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  25. ^ Cohen, Rebecca (December 6, 2023). "College of Southern Nevada closes campuses". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  26. ^ Cohen, Rebecca (December 6, 2023). "I-15 North is closed for first responders, officials say". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  27. ^ Li, David (December 6, 2023). "UNLV men's basketball game at Dayton called off". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  28. ^ Cohen, Rebecca (December 6, 2023). "Ground stop at Harry Reid International Airport". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  29. ^ Waldenberg, Samantha (December 6, 2023). "White House monitoring shooting at UNLV". CNN. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Smart, Sara; Hammond, Elise (December 6, 2023). "Local officials react to "tragic and heartbreaking" shooting on university campus". CNN. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  31. ^ Cohen, Rebecca (December 6, 2023). "Nevada senators in contact with law enforcement about campus shooting". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
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