LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — We're learning more about the terrifying moments on campus as Wednesday's deadly shooting unfolded at UNLV.
Clark County released two hours of 911 calls, which are difficult to listen to but they do help us to understand what those on campus and their loved ones off campus were going through in the moments that the shooting was taking place.
911: Do you need police fire or medical?
Female caller: I need the police, please!
911: What's the address?
Female caller: I'm at BEH at UNLV. Someone's shooting... inside the office.
As the calls flooded in, the fear and panic was palpable.
Female caller: I just want to go home!
911: Just stay locked in the office and don't open the door for anybody.
Reacting to an active shooter, we're taught there's a protocol: Run. Hide. Fight.
Male caller: I stepped out of the elevator, I heard the shots fired, and I heard screaming and I ran.
Run is number one when there's an active threat.
Male caller: It's a building full of students. Lots of students are coming running out.
Hide is the second action if escape is not possible.
911: Beam hall? How long ago did you hear the shots?
Female caller: They're happening right now!
911: How many shots have you heard?
Female caller: Like five. I'm hiding under my desk. I closed my door. It's locked.
911: Have you heard anything else before or after?
Female caller: I heard some screaming.
The last resort option in the active shooter protocol is to Fight. UNLV Police did that, fighting back, killing the suspect, and likely saving countless lives.
Two staffers said they saw the shooter, recognizing him as someone who did not belong.
911: Did you see him walk by with a gun?
Male caller: No. I just saw a man I usually don't see on the fourth floor, about 6'4", heavy set, white man.
Female caller: I think I saw the person before I closed my door.
911: Why do you say that?
Female caller: I didn't recognize him. I usually know everyone on this floor but I don't know him.
Another call lets us know the shooter left the fourth floor to stalk the halls below. The caller, a woman who ran and hid with others in a classroom after seeing the shooter on the second floor of Beam Hall.
911: Did you see a gun with him?
Female caller: Yes.
911: What type of gun was it?
Female caller: Like a handgun.
Police would later confirm shooter Tony Polito went to UNLV armed with a Taurus 9mm handgun, multiple loaded magazines, and about 150 rounds of ammunition, searching for people on a hit list he'd compiled. Police believe Polito spent a few minutes looking but couldn't find those people, then shot other victims who happened to be in the building.
911 calls came not just from those on campus but from friends and family calling on behalf of their loved ones.
Female caller: Someone's there shooting up the school at UNLV. I'm not there, but my brother is!
In one call, a 911 operator says her heart is breaking as she's on the phone with a frightened mother texting with her daughter who's hiding in a classroom.
Mother: She texted me, she said okay, are you still on phone? Mom, I'm scared. I said, I'm here, love you. She said, tell dad I love him. I told her stay in the room, keep the door locked and blocked. I asked, do you still hear shots?... I haven't got nothing back.
As we've been reporting, all three victims were UNLV faculty members. No students were killed or wounded.
And still no word from police about motive for the shooting.
We will continue to update this developing story.
