UNLV active shooter was former college professor, sources say
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The suspect in the shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, that left three people dead and one seriously injured, was a former professor who recently applied for a job at the university, sources told Nexstar's KLAS.
The gunman was killed in a shootout with two detectives, police said Wednesday.
The 67-year-old man lived in a Henderson, Nevada, apartment, which police searched following the shooting.
The suspected shooter's name, according to KLAS sources, was Tony Polito. He had recently applied for a job at UNLV, but was turned down, sources said.
An unnamed official confirmed to the Associated Press that Polito previously taught at East Carolina University. His LinkedIn page states he worked there between 2001 and 2017.
He wrote, "The greatest gifts and takeaways I possess from my many years within higher education are the many kind & positive comments students made regarding my instruction and disposition toward them."
Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Wednesday night that officials had identified the suspect but were not releasing that name publicly, pending notification of next of kin. Officials also declined to describe a suspected motive in press briefings Wednesday.
The gunman opened fire at about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday on the fourth floor of the building that houses UNLV’s Lee Business School and then went to several other floors before he was killed in a shootout with two university police detectives outside the building, UNLV Police Chief Adam Garcia said.
Authorities gave the all-clear about 40 minutes after the first report of an active shooter.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the school's 30,000 students were on campus at the time, but McMahill said students had been gathered outside the building to eat and play games. If police hadn’t killed the attacker, “it could have been countless additional lives taken,” he said.
The Associated Press and Nexstar's Addy Bink contributed to this report.