Who is Anthony Polito? Report identifies slain suspect in UNLV shooting

As per ABC News, 67-year-old career college professor Anthony Polito was the gunman who opened fire on the UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) campus and killed three people on Wednesday, December 6. Polito also critically injured one before he was fatally shot by responding officers.

ABC, citing multiple law enforcement sources, confirmed that Anthony Polito was the UNLV shooter who was killed by responding officers. Sources also told ABC that Polito had reportedly applied for a professor position at UNLV but was not hired.

As previously reported, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that officers and UNLV campus police responded to reports of an active shooter near Beam Hall at around 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday. The hall is located near UNLV's Lee Business School.

Shortly after, UNLV campus detectives encountered the suspect outside Beam Hall and engaged in a shootout, resulting in his death. While initially police declined to identify the suspect, sources close to the investigation told CNN that he was a 67-year-old career college professor. ABC, citing police sources, has now identified him as Anthony Polito.

While the identities of the victims killed in the shooting were not disclosed, police have confirmed that they were not students. The three deceased victims were identified as faculty and staff members. Meanwhile, a critically injured student was reported to be in stable condition.

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Anthony Polito was an associate professor at East Carolina University

On his LinkedIn, Anthony Polito described himself as a semi-retired university professor whose last known experience was listed as an associate professor at East Carolina University, where he worked between 2001 and 2017.

Polito has a Bachelor of Science degree from Radford University and an MBA from Duke University. He also has a PhD from the University of Georgia.

Anthony Polito’s LinkedIn profile also shared a link to a website where students reviewed his class and extolled his virtues as an exemplary educator. A student wrote:

"Dr. Polito is a great teacher and gives our class real-life examples that are great to relate to the class work. He also understands how to keep the class intrigued. He is not some boring teacher that just reads every PowerPoint slides and all we do is take notes. He keeps the classroom interested while also teaching the material. Probably one of the best professors I have had."

A police source, without disclosing a name, told AP that the suspect previously worked at East Carolina University in North Carolina. Meanwhile, the attack on UNLV has rattled the citizens of Las Vegas, who are still reeling from the 2017 mass shooting that left 60 dead.

As the community grapples with the recent tragedy, police have yet to disclose a motive for the crime.