Accident – death – Obituary News :

Police Mistook Gunman for Bystander in Deadly Shooting at University of Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Shocking body camera footage and police accounts have revealed that during a deadly shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, police officers mistakenly identified the gunman as a bystander and urged him to leave the building. The incident occurred inside the university’s business school on December 6, resulting in the tragic deaths of three professors and one wounded faculty member.

The Frantic Search for the Suspect

As the shooting unfolded, two Las Vegas police officers, armed and ready, ascended the stairs to a second-floor walkway overlooking the business school’s ground floor. The footage, made public on Wednesday, captured the gunman, later identified as Anthony Polito, for only a brief moment. However, it provided the first glimpse of him inside the building after his initial attack on the top floors of the business school.

In the video, Polito can be seen calmly walking through the first floor of the business school, wearing a long black trench coat over a white shirt. Meanwhile, officers swarmed the building, unaware that the shooter was in their midst. Polito’s hand was visible at his side, with no indication that he was armed.

Despite the chaos, the officers shouted at Polito, pointing to an exit and instructing him to leave the premises. Unbeknownst to them, Polito complied and proceeded to pull out his weapon. A minute later, he engaged in a fatal shootout with university police officers outside the building, resulting in his own death. Fortunately, no individuals outside the business school were harmed in the incident.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Clark County Undersheriff Andrew Walsh confirmed that the responding officers did not realize they had encountered the gunman inside the building. At the time, they lacked a description of the shooter and were aware that other police resources were present on the first floor. Sheriff Kevin McMahill had previously stated that the university police officers had mistaken Polito for a professor.

While the recently released Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department body camera footage does not capture the shootout, a previous video unveiled by McMahill showcased Polito descending a flight of stairs outside the business school, his black coat elegantly swaying. In the footage, a university police officer approached Polito from behind. However, upon turning around with his weapon in hand, the shooter prompted the officer to take cover behind a patrol car.

Possible Motive and Victims

Authorities have not disclosed the specific motive behind the shooting. However, it has been revealed that Polito faced financial difficulties and had been denied a teaching position at UNLV and other Nevada schools. Polito had previously held a tenured position at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, where he taught business for over 15 years before leaving in 2017.

The tragic incident claimed the lives of three esteemed professors at UNLV. Naoko Takemaru, 69, an author and associate professor of Japanese studies; Cha Jan “Jerry” Chang, 64, an associate professor in the business school’s Management, Entrepreneurship & Technology department; and Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, an accounting professor specializing in research on cybersecurity disclosures and data analytics.

The wounded victim, a visiting professor aged 38, has not been publicly identified. In the upcoming weeks, additional body camera footage related to the shooting is expected to be released by the police.

Rio Yamat And Ken Ritter, The Associated Press

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