UNLV cancels finals after campus shooting
Three faculty members killed in shooting at university in Las Vegas, with a fourth seriously injured
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The third victim who was killed in Wednesday’s shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has been named as Dr Naoko Takemaru.
Dr Takemaru was named after her next of kin were informed by the coroner’s office, UNLV president Keith Whitfield said in a statement.
“With sadness, I write to you to mourn the tragic passing of Dr Naoko Takemaru, who this morning was confirmed to be among the three UNLV faculty members who lost their lives during Wednesday’s shooting,” Mr Whitfield said.
The first two victims of the shooting were identified as professor Cha Jan Chang, 64, known as “Jerry,” and assistant professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, of Las Vegas, on Thursday.
It comes after Las Vegas police released new video purportedly showing suspect Anthony Polito moments after his shooting rampage at the University of Nevada‘s Las Vegas campus.
The footage emerged after investigators revealed that 67-year-old Polito had a “target list” - but none of his alleged victims were on it.
Police previously confirmed that Polito was a career college professor who had applied for – but failed to be accepted for – a job at UNLV.
Polito 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.
According to police, he had a previous criminal history of computer trespass out of Virginia in 1992.
On the day of the shooting Polito was armed with a Taurus nine-millimeter handgun, which had been purchased legally in 2022. He had brought 11 magazines to the scene with him. Nine loaded magazines were found on his person.
Third victim of UNLV shooting named
The third victim who was killed in Wednesday’s shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has been named as Dr Naoko Takemaru.
Dr Takemaru was named after her next of kin were informed by the coroner’s office, UNLV president Keith Whitfield said in a statement on Friday.
“With sadness, I write to you to mourn the tragic passing of Dr Naoko Takemaru, who this morning was confirmed to be among the three UNLV faculty members who lost their lives during Wednesday’s shooting,” Mr Whitfield said.
“Earlier today, the coroner’s office shared Dr. Takemaru’s name following the notification of her next of kin.”
Third victim of shooting had been at UNLV for 20 years
Dr Naoko Takemaru recently marked her 20th year as a member of UNLV’s faculty, according to college president Keith Whitfield.
An associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, she was a noted scholar, author, and award-winning educator
Dr Takemaru coordinated Japanese language programs and taught numerous courses on Japanese culture, business, and language at UNLV and “was incredibly dedicated to her students,” Mr Whitfield said.
“We grieve for her family, friends, students, and colleagues. We honor her memory, alongside those of Lee Business School professors Dr Patricia Navarro-Velez and Dr Jerry Chang, who also perished as a result of Wednesday’s tragedy. Another UNLV faculty member remains hospitalized this morning, and we are collectively pulling for their recovery,” a statement read.
Mr Whitfield’s statement continued: “Processing the loss of three cherished UNLV faculty members is horrendously difficult, but we are heartened by memories of them and their remarkable and lasting impact on our university, on their students, and within their professions.”
UNLV shooting suspect captured on video after deadly rampage
Police have released footage of UNLV shooter Anthony Polito after his deadly rampage on the university.
The video shows the gunman being taken down by officers just outside the campus where he’s believed to have killed three faculty members on Wednesday and injured another.
A woman who police say they believe to be a professor is also seen in the footage running away from the suspect.
How bad is US gun violence?
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.
Finals cancelled in wake of UNLV campus shooting
In the wake of the UNLV campus shooting, in-person finals were cancelled, a relief to many.
But faculty and students will have flexibility to decide how to end the semester. There will be optional online finals and take home projects, otherwise students will earn a grade based on their work before 6 December – the day of the shooting.
The decision came after students sent a letter to university leaders, asking them to cancel classes for the remainder of the semester and to move finals online or cancel them.
The letter urged the university “to show grace during this time, allowing for extensions on all assignments and attendance as no student should be forced back onto campus in the coming weeks.” A petition calling for the cancellation of classes also generated thousands of signatures.
Some students told the Los Angeles Times that classes just didn’t seem that important right now. Or that they felt they needed to be home with their families.
Yet, others were grateful the university did not cancel winter graduation ceremonies, which will go on as scheduled December 19 and 20.
Who were the victims of the UNLV campus shooting?
All four of the victims were faculty members at the UNLV, the college’s president Keith Whitfield has confirmed.
One of the victims was 39-year-old assistant professor Patricia Navarro-Velez, from Las Vegas.
Dr Navarro-Velez was an assistant professor of accounting and had “devoted her career to educating the next generation of accountants.”
Dr Cha Jan Chang, 64, was known as “Jerry” by friends and colleagues.
Dr Chang was a longtime educator of management information systems, who had spent more than 20 years of his academic career teaching a generation of UNLV Lee Business School students, said college president Kevin Whitfield.
Both died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Clark County coroner.
On Friday, the third victim was named after her next of kin were informed by the coroner’s office.
Dr Naoko Takemaru, an associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, was a noted scholar, author, and award-winning educator.
Three victims killed in UNLV mass shooting identified
All four of the victims were faculty members at the UNLV, the college’s president Keith Whitfield has confirmed
Shooter’s former student recalls his obsessive behavior
One of Polito’s former students at East Carolina, Paul Whittington, said Polito seemed obsessive over anonymous student reviews at the end of each semester, The Associated Press reported.
Polito told Whittington’s class that he remembered the faces of students who gave him bad reviews and would express that he was sure who they were and where they sat, pointing at seats in the classroom, Whittington said.
“He always talked about the negative feedback he got,” said Whittington, now 33, who took Polito’s intro to operations management class in 2014.
“He didn’t get a lot of it, but there would always be one student every semester, or at least one student every class, that would give a negative review. And he fixated on those.”
Who is Anthony Polito? UNLV shooter claimed to have solved the Zodiac Killer case
The suspected school shooter has been identified in multiple media reports as Anthony Polito, 67, a career college professor who had applied for – but failed to be accepted for – a job at the school.
Polito had reportedly 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 Polito’s LinkedIn page, which had been changed to a “remembrance” page in the aftermath of the shooting, he described himself as a semi-retired university professor living in Las Vegas.
The short bio spoke of his fondness at the “kind & positive comments” from students he had taught over the years.
Read more:
Who is Anthony Polito? College professor accused of deadly UNLV shooting
Anthony Polito, 67, unsuccessfully applied for a college professorship at UNLV sometime prior to embarking on the deadly shooting rampage, sources say
Officers who stopped shooting from becoming ‘bloodbath’ described as ‘heroes’
Two officers were also injured during searches for students hiding in the “vast rooms and buildings” on the university campus.
On Friday they were named at the press conference as Detective Nathanial Drum and Officer Damian Garcia.
Adam Garcia, police chief for the University Police Services Southern Command described the men as “heroes”. “They kept the worst from becoming a bloodbath,” Mr Garcia said.
“I want to express with a deepest gratitude to both officer Garcia and Detective Drumm who, combined, bring over 40 years of law enforcement experience to our department. Their dedication to this community is unwavering.”
Detective Drum has been employed with UPS since 2017 and is assigned to the detective bureau at our central area command. Officer Garcia has been employed with UPS since 2018.
Las Vegas Strip marquees light up with #UNLVStrong after shooting
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