LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — When she came to the UNLV campus Wednesday to study with a friend, law school student Kate Kairit had no idea what she was stepping into.
"You don't expect to be somewhere where there's a mass shooting," Kairit said Thursday while back on campus to retrieve her backpack and computer.
After the campus community was alerted about an active shooter at around noon on Wednesday, Kairit was forced to hide in the dark, she says, in a conference room inside a UNLV building.
"We heard the first couple of gunshots," Kairit said. "It was really just horrifying."
Police have confirmed that Anthony Polito was the gunman who terrorized the campus. He killed three UNLV faculty members and wounded another.
Polito was declared deceased on Wednesday. Police say he was involved in a shootout with authorities.
In the hours since the rampage, many have talked about the need for added security on the campus.
Part-time instructor Emily Sarten says she'd like to see more campus police officers hired.
"There has to be something, some kind of presence that they can have on campus to make us feel more safe," Sarten said.
Sarten said she regularly sees people who appear to be homeless on campus, and she pointed to a recent attack on a student inside a campus restroom.
In an effort that was started just hours after the shooting, a group of students started a petition to make UNLV a "closed campus," which would require visitors to be verified.
As of Thursday evening, the petition, run through Change.org, had over 12,000 signatures.
In an email Thursday, petition organizer Emily Navarro said she was surprised by the response.
"The amount of support we've gotten is unbelievable," she said. "We are so grateful. We feel the love from the community. Hopefully, the campus will hear our voices."
On campus Thursday afternoon, many students weren't interested in talking about the tragedy.
One student, Zach Carlow, was on campus to get his car, which he had to leave overnight.
He said he wasn't sure if a closed campus would be practical, but he does feel something needs to be done to enhance security at the school.
"[Wednesday] was a wakeup call," Carlow said. "A lot of people I've talked to had the same thinking I do — that things aren't as secure as we thought they were."
