LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Las Vegas Metro police revealed new data Wednesday concerning the lethal capturing in 2023 on the College of Nevada, Las Vegas that claimed the lives of three professors.
Anthony Polito, 67, almost killed a College Police Division detective, however his gun jammed, giving the detective the time to shoot him, in accordance with authorities.
These details got here to gentle throughout a fact-finding evaluate for the Dec. 6, 2023, UNLV capturing, which was held contained in the Clark County Fee chambers.
Josh Tomsheck was the ombudsman for the evaluate, and he questioned Las Vegas Metro Police Division Det. Jason Leavitt, who gave a presentation on the police response to the capturing.
“He’s got a single firearm on him, correct?” Tomsheck stated.
Appropriate,” Leavitt responded.
“It appears that firearm at the time he’s impacted by the shots from [Nathanial] Drum and [Damian] Garcia are not operable, right?” Tomsheck stated.
“That is correct,” Leavitt stated.
“And it’s because of what you would describe as a malfunction of that firearm,” Tomsheck stated.
“Yes,” Leavitt stated.
College Police Division detectives Drum and Garcia are credited for killing Polito. Polito shot and killed Lee Enterprise College professors Patricia Navarro Velez and Cha-Jang “Jerry” Chang, and Faculty of Liberal Arts professor Naoko Takemaru. A fourth professor shot by Polito survived.
Metro physique digital camera video captured Polito leaving Beam Corridor 20 minutes after capturing the professors. Leavitt stated officers grew suspicious of Polito as a result of he wasn’t responding to their instructions and wasn’t strolling out of Beam Corridor with urgency.
Det. Drum adopted Polito, assuming he was a witness, in accordance with police.
“He announced himself again as he got closer to the male. The male looked back toward him, turning his body, and reached into a bag and pulled a firearm,” Leavitt stated.
A UNLV surveillance digital camera captured that trade, exhibiting Drum dive behind a pillar as Polito fired his gun. Drum finally took cowl behind a police car. Polito then turns to face Drum, however his gun jams and Drum shoots him.
“Hang on, he has something in his pocket,” a metro officer handcuffing Polito after he was shot was heard saying over physique cam.
“He was ready to go,” one other officer stated.
That response was prompted after officers discovered that Polito had 9 totally loaded magazines strapped to his waist, which was at the very least 160 rounds of ammunition.
Because the 8 Information Now Investigators reported after the capturing, Polito had utilized to 4 positions on the college however was not interviewed for any. Polito additionally utilized to different positions inside the Nevada System of Greater Schooling however was rejected, police stated.
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“Based on interviews, Polito’s perceived superiority and dissatisfaction with the lack of appreciation for his talents were likely aggravating factors,” a metro police report issued in February stated. “Those closest to him noted his frustration with his lack of employment in Las Vegas.”
