Las Vegas, Nevada – Newly released footage from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas reveals the harrowing moments of a deadly rampage that took the lives of three professors and left another severely wounded last December. The campus surveillance video captured a campus police officer engaging in a shootout with a gunman identified as Anthony Polito, who was later fatally shot by the officer outside a university building.
Authorities described the incident as 10 minutes of terror unleashed by the 67-year-old former business professor from North Carolina. Polito, armed with a legally purchased 9 mm handgun and carrying nine bullet magazines, had a list of names as potential targets, although none of the victims were on that list. The university released 20 hours of footage from campus security cameras and officer body cameras, as well as over an hour of 911 call recordings made to campus police.
The footage shows the chaos that ensued after the gunfire erupted, driving people to flee from the scene. Within just 78 seconds of the shooting, a campus police officer responded to the business school building where the tragic events unfolded. The release of the material was in response to public records requests, with the university Vice President of Public Safety, Adam Garcia, acknowledging the difficulty of reviewing the recordings and videos.
Amidst the chaos, 911 recordings captured the terrifying moments as one father received a text from his daughter hiding in a classroom, prompting him to inquire about an active shooter. Meanwhile, newly released videos showed campus security officers rushing into the building as Las Vegas police secured the area near the Student Union. The footage depicted the gunman’s calm demeanor as he approached the business school building before the fatal encounter with the campus police officer.
The injured professor, a visiting professor who has remained unnamed, is reported to be recovering and undergoing rehabilitation. Las Vegas police had previously released video and audio recordings showing the extensive efforts made to ensure the safety of students and faculty during the incident. The tragic shooting, only a few miles from the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history in 2017, serves as a grim reminder of the ongoing challenges of gun violence in society.