Anthony Polito, a former business professor, has been identified as the gunman who killed three staff members at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on December 6, 2023. Polito, 67, was a tenured associate professor in the department of marketing and supply chain management at East Carolina University (ECU) from 2001 to 2017. He had also applied for a professor job at UNLV but was not hired.
Polito’s LinkedIn profile, which listed him as a “semi-retired university professor,” was memorialized by the company but quickly taken down after the shooting. According to sources, Polito was “eccentric” and “obsessed” with Las Vegas. Investigators have uncovered a “target list” that included several UNLV employees, indicating that the shooting was premeditated.
The shooting has sparked conversations about gun control and mental health issues, with some pointing to Polito’s behavior on Reddit as a warning sign. Polito had posted several disturbing comments on the platform, including one in which he expressed his desire to “take out” his colleagues. The incident has raised questions about the responsibility of social media companies in identifying and reporting potential threats.
Profile of Anthony Polito
Academic Background
Anthony Polito was born on October 2, 1956, in New York. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Connecticut in 1978. He then went on to pursue a Master’s degree in mathematics from the same institution in 1980. Later, he received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1985.
Professional Career
Polito’s first academic appointment was as an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Georgia in 1985. He then moved to East Carolina University (ECU) in 1996, where he served as an associate professor of mathematics until his resignation in 2017. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was a tenured associate professor at ECU.
After leaving ECU, Polito worked as a visiting professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) for the Fall 2017 semester. He returned to UNLV as a lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences in August 2022.
On December 7, 2023, Polito was identified as the shooter who killed three people and injured several others at the UNLV campus. According to law enforcement sources, Polito died by suicide after the shooting. The motive behind the shooting is still under investigation.
Polito’s LinkedIn profile, which has since been taken down, revealed that he had a keen interest in machine learning and data science. He had also authored several research papers in mathematics and had presented his work at various conferences.
Incident Overview
On December 6, 2023, a shooting took place at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) that left three people dead. The shooter was identified as Anthony Polito, a former professor at the university who had recently applied for a job at the school. Polito died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
UNLV Shooting Details
According to The Washington Post, Polito opened fire in a classroom in the hospitality building on the UNLV campus. The victims included two students and one faculty member. Another student was injured and taken to the hospital.
Las Vegas and Georgia Connections
Polito had ties to both Las Vegas and Georgia. He had previously worked as a professor at Georgia State University and had recently moved to Las Vegas. According to The Independent, Polito had a history of mental health issues and had been hospitalized in Georgia for a psychiatric evaluation.
Reddit Discussions
The shooting sparked discussions on Reddit, with users speculating about Polito’s motivations and possible connections to extremist groups. However, it is important to note that these discussions are based on speculation and have not been confirmed by any official sources.
