Current:Home > reviewsThe UNLV shooting victims have been identified. Here's what we know. -Thrive Capital Insights
The UNLV shooting victims have been identified. Here's what we know.
View
Date:2025-04-18 02:30:30
Authorities have identified the three victims killed during Wednesday's shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus.
On Thursday, the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner identified two of the victims as Cha Jan Chang, 64, a professor at the university, and Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, an assistant professor.
Chang, who was also known as Jerry, died from a gunshot wound to the head, and Velez died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds, the medical examiner said.
Authorities have identified the third deceased victim but are waiting to notify the next of kin. According to two law enforcement sources, the third victim was also not a student.
The fourth wounded victim, a 38-year-old male visiting professor, remains in the hospital where his condition has been downgraded to life-threatening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill said in a news conference Thursday afternoon.
McMahill identified the shooter as 67-year-old Anthony Polito. The shooter was a long-time business professor who sought a professor position at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and was denied. He had applied "numerous times" for jobs at multiple Nevada colleges "and was denied each time," McMahill said.
According to police, the shooter arrived on the UNLV campus around 11:28 a.m. in a 2007 Lexus armed with a Taurus 9 mm handgun he purchased legally in 2022 and 11 magazines, which he had in carriers strapped to his body. McMahill said police are not sure exactly how many rounds were fired, but nine loaded magazines were recovered after the shooting.
Shots were first reported to police around 11:45 a.m., McMahill said.
The shooter exited Beam Hall, the building where the shooting occurred, at 11:55 a.m., when he was shot multiple times by police officers in a gunfight captured on security footage. He died on the scene, police said.
The victims were found on three different floors of Beam Hall. Two of the people who were killed were found on the third floor and the third person who was killed was found on the fourth floor.
The wounded victim is believed to have been shot on the fifth floor, but he managed to get to the ground floor on his own before being taken to the hospital. McMahill said Thursday afternoon that authorities were not sure in what order the victims had been shot.
New details about the shooter emerge
As police continue their investigation, they have learned more about the shooter and his actions leading to the shooting.
The shooter had a previous criminal history of computer trespass out of Virginia in 1992, police said.
On the morning of the shooting, he visited a post office in Henderson, Nevada, and sent 22 letters to various university personnel across the country with no return address, police said.
Police said they do not know the contents of those letters and are working with the postal inspector and federal partners to process them. One of the letters was found and when authorities opened it they found a white powder, McMahill said. The powder was found to be "harmless," the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said later Thursday night.
A search warrant was executed at the shooter's Henderson residence, where police recovered multiple items, including a chair with an arrow pointing down to a document that was similar to a will, several computers and hard drive components, as well as ammunition consistent with cartridge cases found at UNLV and a box for a handgun consistent with the one the shooter used, police said.
The shooter also had a list of people he was seeking on the UNLV campus and Eastern Carolina University, police said. None of the people who were shot were on the list, McMahill said in a statement Thursday night.
Police determined the shooter had money issues, and he even had an eviction notice taped to his front door in Henderson.
Police said they believe the shooter acted alone.
Pat Milton and Andy Triay contributed reporting.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Richard Lewis remembered in 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' tribute, appears in scene with Larry David
- Trump tried to crush the 'DEI revolution.' Here's how he might finish the job.
- First over-the-counter birth control pill in US begins shipping to stores
- 'Most Whopper
- New Massachusetts license plate featuring 'Cat in the Hat' honors Springfield native Dr. Seuss
- Deleted emails of late North Dakota attorney general recovered amid investigation of ex-lawmaker
- The Biden Administration is Spending Its ‘Climate Smart’ Funding in the Wrong Places, According to New Analyses
- IOC's decision to separate speed climbing from other disciplines paying off
- Untangling the Rumors Surrounding Noah Cyrus, Tish Cyrus and Dominic Purcell
Ranking
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Denver Broncos inform QB Russell Wilson they’ll release him when new league year begins
- Brothers Travis and Jason Kelce honored with bobblehead giveaway at Cavs-Celtics game
- Brothers Travis and Jason Kelce honored with bobblehead giveaway at Cavs-Celtics game
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ready to campaign for Harris-Walz after losing out for spot on the ticket
- A man is found guilty of killing, dismembering a woman after taking out life insurance in her name
- Boy whose death led to charges against parents and grandmother suffered ongoing abuse, autopsy shows
- Chris Evans argues superhero movies deserve more credit: 'They're not easy to make'
Recommendation
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
ATF director Steven Dettelbach says we have to work within that system since there is no federal gun registry
Lisa Vanderpump Is Joining Season 2 of Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars
Three-man, one-woman crew ready for weather-delayed launch to space station
$1 Frostys: Wendy's celebrates end of summer with sweet deal
First over-the-counter birth control pill coming to U.S. stores
Rotting bodies, fake ashes and sold body parts push Colorado to patch lax funeral home rules
NHL trade deadline primer: Team needs, players who could be dealt