UNLV shooting suspect ID’d as ‘rejected college professor’ Anthony Polito: Live

Brett Johnsen, a student attending class at UNLV when the shooting occurred, said his professor had stopped mid-lecture after hearing a loud noise, but then continued unaware of what was unfolding.

“Then an alarm came on,” Mr Johnsen told CNN. “I’ve never heard an alarm like that before, it didn’t sound like a fire alarm,”

He added that things “began to get real” when the students left the room – his professor’s face turned into panic and he urged the students to get back, lock the door and get on the ground.

A few moments later, the professor opened the door to check that it was clear and advised the students to run. Mr Johnsen said he ran as fast as he could down the stairs of the building and outside as far as he could go.

He said everyone on campus was telling each other to run and evacuate. “It looked like every single cop in Las Vegas was at UNLV,” Mr Johnsen told CNN.

Although authorities later reassured the communtity that there was “no further threat”, many questions still remain, largely to do with the shooter and their motive.

Here’s what we know so far:

Anthony Polito, 67, was named by law enforcement sources to ABC News, CNN and NBC News on Thursday morning hours after the shooting, which ended with his own death. Police still have yet to release his identity.

The sources said Polito had unsuccessfully applied for a college professorship at UNLV sometime prior to embarking on the deadly rampage.

Vehicles that were left on campus during Wednesday’s shooting can now be retrieved, INLV has said,

In a tweet, the university said Maryland Parkway has reopened to traffic. The school also noted that there will continue to be a “strong police presence and activity on the main campus” on Thursday as the investigation into the shooting continues.

Most of the university remains closed until Monday, with staff being advised to work remotely.

The gunman who shot and killed three people and injured another at the UNLV campus on Wednesday has been identified as 67-year-old college professor Anthony Polito.

The sources said Polito had unsuccessfully applied for a college professorship at UNLV sometime prior to embarking on the deadly rampage.

He also previously worked as a professor at colleges in Georgia and North Carolina, and kept a personal website where he proudly documented his academic achievements – and claimed to have solved the Zodiac Killer case.

On a section of the website titled “Theories Regarding Various Mysteries & Puzzles”, he shared a 15-page article – dated 2014 – in which he claimed he had cracked the secret of the identity of the infamous Zodiac Killer, who terrorised Northern California in the late 1960s and taunted police with codes.

In asserting his apparent solving of the case, Polito insisted he was not “a total crackpot” or a “dumb guy” but had used his MENSA skills to reach his conclusion.

“Just so you won’t initially write off my solution as that of a total crackpot, let me first say that I have been a member of MENSA for 35 years, I hold a double undergraduate degree in Mathematics & Statistics (two skills closely associated with successful cryptographers) … and I hold a masters degree and a doctoral degree from top-tier universities as well. So I am not a dumb guy!” he wrote.

“To be fair, I must state that I do NOT have any special expertise or experience in the field of cryptography, only a general and basic knowledge of it … and neither am I an expert or especially accomplished mathematician and/or statistician.”

LeBron James has slammed inaction on gun control after a shooting on the UNLV campus which saw three people killed and one injured.

During a news conference in LA ahead of the inaugural in-season tournament semifinals on Thursday, the basketball player said it was “senseless” that nothing changes when it comes to gun control in the United States.

Mr James said he had received a text message from his brother on Wednesday following news of the shooting, asking him to stay safe.

He then offered his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, before condemning the lack of firearm legislation in the country as “ridiculous”.

“It just goes back to what I said before about guns in America. I think it’s such a longer conversation, but we keep dealing with the same story, this same conversation every single time it happens, and it just continues to happen,” he said. “The ability to get a gun, the ability to do these things over and over and over, and there’s been no change is literally ridiculous. It makes no sense that we continue to lose innocent lives, on campuses, schools, at shopping markets and movie theaters and all type of stuff. It’s ridiculous.

“The fact that we haven’t changed anything – it’s actually been easier to be able to own a firearm… It’s stupid,” he continued.

Mr James has been a vocal advocate for gun control and reform for years, joining a consistent stream of voices from the NBA – including Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr – on the issue whenever mass shootings have occurred across the country pleading for the government to make changes to the nation’s gun laws.

His remarks come after the NBA released a statement about the shooting, calling it “senseless”. The league is also planning a moment of silence ahead of Thursday’s semifinals, ESPN reported.

The first performance for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on Thursday night has been cancelled after a shooting on the UNLV campus which saw three people killed and one injured.

Officials from the Las Vegas Events Board of Trustees and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Board of Directors said the cancellation was “in respect for those who lost their lives on December 6.”

They added that NFR will take a day of mourning.

“All of us are saddened by the events that occurred today,” said LVE president Tim Keener. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been affected. We are grateful to all of the first responders, police, security, and the UNLV community for their actions today.”

PRCA CEO Tom Glause also called the shooting a “senseless act of violence”.

“Today’s shooting on the UNLV campus was alarming and deeply troubling,” Mr Glause said. “The PRCA is grateful for the rapid, professional response from law enforcement and first responders. Our thoughts, right now, are focused on the victims.”

Additional details about event arrangements will be announced on Thursday, organizers said.

The gunman who killed three people and wounded a fourth in a mass shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has been identified as a career college professor who had applied for – but failed to be accepted for – a job at the school, according to reports.

Law enforcement sources told The Associated Press, CNN and NBC News that the suspect is 67-year-old Anthony Polito. He had previously unsuccessfully sought a job at the school.

According to analysis by CNN, Wednesday’s shooting at UNLV marks the 80th US school shooting this year.

Of those, 51 shootings have been reported on K-12 campuses and 29 on university and college campuses, according to the outlet. This figure includes the latest shooting in Las Vegas on the UNLV campus.

In his remarks, Mr Biden highlighted that in 2023 the country had experienced more than 600 mass shootings, and approximately 40,000 deaths due to gun violence.

“This is not normal, and we can never let it become normal,” he said.