On December 6th, a gunman opened fire on the premises of the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). This deadly shooting left three faculty members dead and one in critical condition.
According to the Clark County Medical Examiner, Cha Jan Chang (64) a professor at UNLV, Patricia Navarro Velez (39) an assistant professor, and a third unidentified faculty member were all victims of the deadly shooting rampage as mentioned in USA TODAY.
The suspect who caused the three deaths has been identified as Anthony Polito, who resided as a longtime business professor at Eastern Carolina University (ECU) (APNews). In recent months Politio had applied for several teaching positions at various colleges as well as UNLV; however, every application submitted resulted in a mental decline.
As mentioned in NBC News, in a press conference with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill stated that the shooter arrived around 11:28 a.m. stepping out of a 2007 Lexus armed with a Taurus 9mm handgun and 11 rounds of ammunition as stated in ApNews.com. According to McMahill, the shooting rampage concluded around 11:55 am, when Polito left the business school to exit at Beam Hall, where he was confronted and participated in an active gunfight with the police, in which he later died on the scene.
As stated in the press conference, a search warrant was conducted at Polito’s residence in which the following items were found: a chair with an arrow pointing down toward a document similar to a will, several computers, and hard drives. Along with the same ammunition consistently found at the site of UNLV, a case for a 9mm handgun, and a written list of people who he was pursuing on the UNLV and ECU campuses (APNews).
Polito also released 22 letters to various university personnel with the contents of a white powder and no return address. Police are still investigating these envelopes, but strongly urge that anyone within the education system who receives a letter with a no-return address should immediately contact their local authorities as stressed in NBC NEWS.
When interviewed by The Wrangler, Noelle Wu (10) expressed her sympathy and sadness to those affected at UNLV, “It hurts me so much to see the amount of violence and shootings consistent in our everyday lives, this is a further testament to our need to lower violence, my heart aches for those affected.” Moreover, Xenia Lee (10) states, “It just surprised me that such an ordinary-seeming professor like him could turn out as a gunman. Just goes to show how cautious we all need to be no matter who we think we know.”
Aiyanna Reed (10) has also found this horrific act as a way to learn and break away from the anger and negative feelings as a community, “The UNLV shooting is a painful reminder of the devastating consequences of gun violence in America and the need for better regulations to prevent tragedies like this in the future. I can only hope the victims and others affected by this act of violence can recover and find peace.”
This horrific shooting is a further testament to the need for the community to rally against hate and to be there for one another. Former Mustang Jorden Barnes expressed, “My heart hurts so much. Vegas has been home since I was 4. UNLV has been home since my dad would take me on campus when he was in college. Anyone who lives in the city or is from the city has a deep connection in some ways to the university. My heart goes out to all those impacted and the families who lost their loved ones.”
As previously mentioned in APNews, classes at UNLV were canceled through Friday, and the annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (World Premier Rodeo) that was scheduled for Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV was canceled as well. A day started with picnics and games to mark the end of the semester and ended in an abrupt end of classes and the deaths of three. Yorba Linda High School’s The Wrangler sympathizes with all the victims of this abrupt and devastating act, and wishes for peace and recovery for those affected.
