Professor Patricia Death – Three individuals have been identified by authorities as victims of the shooting that occurred on Wednesday on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. University of Clark County business professor Jerry Cha-Jan Chang, 64, and accounting assistant Patricia Navarro-Velez, 39, were named Thursday by the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner. Naoko Takemaru, a 69-year-old assistant professor of Japanese studies, was named Friday as the third victim by the office. According to the medical examiner, Chang suffered a fatal bullet wound to the skull, while Navarro-Velez and Takemaru both succumbed to many gunshot wounds. At a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced that a 38-year-old male visiting professor, who was the fourth casualty, is still in the hospital. His condition has been lowered to life-threatening.
Anthony Polito, 67 years old, was named as the shooter by McMahill. The gunman had been a business professor for many years and had applied for a professorship at UNLV, but was turned down. He had sent in job applications to other institutions in Nevada “and was denied each time,” according to McMahill. The gunman allegedly drove up to the UNLV campus in a 2007 Lexus at approximately 11:28 a.m. equipped with a Taurus 9 mm handgun that he had lawfully acquired in 2022 and eleven magazines that he slung over his shoulder. According to McMahill, the actual number of bullets discharged is unknown; however, nine magazines that were filled were found following the incident. Around 11:45 a.m., shots were initially reported to the police, according to McMahill.
At 11:55 a.m., as the gunman was leaving the building where the incident took place, Beam Hall, video footage showed that he was shot multiple times by police officers. Authorities stated he passed away at the scene. Three floors of Beam Hall were searched for the bodies. The bodies of two victims were discovered on the third floor, while the remains of a third victim were discovered on the fourth story. According to reports, the injured man was shot on the fifth story; nonetheless, he autonomously descended to the ground level before being sent to the hospital. According to McMahill, who spoke on Thursday afternoon, the authorities still do not know the exact sequence in which the victims were shot.
More information regarding the shooter and his activities leading up to the attack has been uncovered as the police investigation continues. The shooter was known to the authorities due to his 1992 conviction for computer trespass out of Virginia. According to investigators, he went to a post office in Henderson, Nevada, on the morning of the shooting, and he sent 22 unreturned letters to different university staff members around the nation.
The police are collaborating with federal colleagues and the postal inspector to process the letters, although they are unaware of their contents. The discovery of a white powder was made when investigators opened one of the letters, according to McMahill. It was later Thursday night that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced the powder’s “harmless” status. At the shooter’s Henderson residence, police executed a search warrant and found numerous items. Among them was a chair with an arrow pointing downwards to what appeared to be a will, numerous computers and hard drive components, ammunition that matched cartridge cases found at UNLV, and a handgun case that matched the one the shooter used, according to the police.
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