Students and professors cowered in classrooms and dorms as a gunman roamed the floors of a University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) building, killing three people and critically wounding a fourth. The gunman in Wednesday’s shooting was Anthony Polito, a professor who had unsuccessfully sought a job at the school, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. He previously worked at East Carolina University in North Carolina. At about 11:45 a.m., the gunman opened fire on the fourth floor of the building that houses UNLV’s Lee Business School, then went to several other floors before he was killed in a shootout with two university police detectives outside the building, UNLV Police Chief Adam Garcia said.
Authorities gave the all-clear about 40 minutes after the first report of an active shooter. It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the school’s 30,000 students were on campus, but Sheriff Kevin McMahill said students had gathered outside the building to eat and play games. If police hadn’t killed the attacker, “it could have been countless additional lives taken,” he said. “No student should have to fear pursuing their dreams on a college campus,” the sheriff said. Police didn’t immediately identify the victims and didn’t say what kind of weapon was used, although some witnesses reported hearing as many as 20 shots fired. Classes were canceled through Friday and UNLV’s basketball game at the University of Dayton, Ohio, was canceled Wednesday.