LAS VEGAS – The gunman who opened fire and killed three people while critically wounding another at the University of Nevada Las Vegas on Wednesday was identified as 67-year-old Anthony Polito who previously failed to secure employment as a professor with the school.
Polito had unsuccessfully applied for a professorship at UNLV before he unleashed his deadly rampage on the campus just before noon. He was armed with a handgun and was killed during a shootout with two police detectives. He had ties to North Carolina and Georgia, where he previously worked as a college professor, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The shooting began around 11:45 a.m. on the fourth floor of Beam Hall, UNLV’s business school, near the student union building.
Police found three people dead when they arrived. A fourth person was taken to an area hospital, where the individual is listed in critical but stable condition.
The murder victims were faculty members, not students, sources told ABC News. Therefore, police believe the attacks were likely targeted.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, four other people were hospitalized after suffering panic attacks and two officers were treated for minor injuries sustained while clearing buildings.
Polito’s LinkedIn account says he was a “semi-retired university professor” based in Las Vegas. His educational background included undergraduate work at Radford University in Virginia, where he graduated with a double major in mathematics and statistics. Next, he earned his master’s degree at Duke University and completed his doctorate of philosophy at the University of Georgia, the New York Post reported.
He listed previously employment as an associate professor at East Carolina University from August 2001 to January 2017.
