LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — We're learning more about the history of the gunman who shot four faculty members at UNLV earlier this month before he was killed in a shootout with police on campus.
Three of the people shot by Anthony Polito died from their injuries. They've since been identified as faculty members at the university's Lee School of Business and College of Liberal Arts.
In previous statements about the shooting, police confirmed Polito was a career educator who had applied for multiple positions at UNLV in the past, but was denied each time.
On Friday, the university confirmed Polito had applied for at least four open jobs at the school back in 2019.
According to the university, none of Polito's applications advanced beyond the initial review process, "and he was not interviewed for any recruitment."
These are the positions for which Polito applied:
- On Feb. 27, 2019: Hospitality service operations, assistant professor, Harrah College of Hospitality
- On Feb. 28, 2019: Assistant/associate professor in health care administration & policy, School of Public Health
- On March 30, 209: Assistant professor, UNLV Academic Success Center
- On June 16, 2019: Lecturer, Department of Marketing & International Business
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What motivated Polito to open fire in the business school that day is still unclear. Police have said he had a "kill list" and sent nearly two dozen letters to educators across the country prior to the shooting.
Police were able to intercept all of those letters, at least one of which contained a white substance that was later identified as talcum powder.
When serving a search warrant after the shooting, police said they found an eviction notice taped to the door of Polito's apartment in Henderson. And inside, they found a document they described as similar to a last will and testament.
The faculty members killed in the shooting have since been identified as 39-year-old Patricia Navarro, 64-year-old Cha Jan "Jerry" Chang, and 69-year-old Naoko Takemaru.
A fourth faculty member who has not been publicly identified was said to have been seriously injured in the shooting.
