“University of Nevada Shooting: Police Mistook Gunman for Bystander, Body Camera Footage Shows”

Accident – death – Obituary News : LAS VEGAS — A recent tragic incident at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has left authorities and the community in shock. Body camera footage and police accounts have revealed that police officers responding to a deadly shooting inside the university’s business school mistook the gunman for a bystander during the frantic search for the suspect and victims.

The incident occurred on December 6, when a shooter, later identified as Anthony Polito, opened fire on the top floors of the business school, resulting in the deaths of three professors and the injury of one other. The newly released body camera footage provides a first look at the gunman inside the building after the shooting had taken place.

In the footage, Polito can be seen wearing a long black trench coat over a white shirt, calmly moving through the first floor of the business school while officers swarmed the building. With their weapons drawn, the two Las Vegas police officers climbed stairs to a second-floor walkway, unaware that the gunman was among them. The officers, believing Polito to be a bystander, urged him to leave the building as they continued their search.

It is evident from the footage that the officers did not have a description of the shooter at the time and were unaware that they had encountered the gunman. Clark County Undersheriff Andrew Walsh explained that the officers knew there were other police resources on the first floor and did not suspect that the gunman was in their vicinity. Sheriff Kevin McMahill had previously stated that the officers had mistaken Polito for a professor.

The video footage does not capture the ensuing shootout between Polito and university police officers, which ultimately led to Polito’s death. However, an earlier video released by McMahill shows Polito descending a set of stairs outside the business school, his long black coat swaying. In that video, one of the university police officers approached Polito from behind, but when Polito turned around with his weapon in hand, the officer took cover behind a patrol car.

The motive behind the shooting has not been officially determined, but authorities have revealed that Polito was in financial trouble and had been rejected for a teaching position at UNLV and other schools in Nevada. Polito had previously held a tenured post at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, for over 15 years before leaving in 2017.

The victims of the shooting at UNLV were identified as Naoko Takemaru, 69, an associate professor of Japanese studies; Cha Jan “Jerry” Chang, 64, an associate professor in the Management, Entrepreneurship & Technology department; and Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, an accounting professor specializing in cybersecurity disclosures and data analytics. The wounded victim, a visiting professor aged 38, has not been publicly identified.

Authorities have announced that more body camera footage related to the incident will be released in the coming weeks as the investigation continues.

This tragic incident has shaken the community and raised concerns about campus safety. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and law enforcement agencies will undoubtedly work together to review their protocols and implement necessary measures to prevent such incidents in the future..