UNLV shooter kept dresses for sex workers, received startling text in aftermath, Las Vegas police say

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UNLV shooter kept dresses for sex workers, received startling text in aftermath, Las Vegas police say

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man who shot and killed three UNLV professors kept dozens of dresses for sex workers in his apartment and received a startling text message in the aftermath of the mass shooting, according to the Las Vegas Metro police final report released Friday.

On Dec. 6, 2023, Anthony Polito, 67, shot and killed Lee Business School professors Dr. Jerry Cha-Jan Chang and Dr. Patricia Navarro Velez; and College of Liberal Arts professor Dr. Naoko Takemaru. A fourth professor shot in the incident survived.

A university police officer shot and killed Polito about 10 minutes into the mass shooting at Beam Hall. A message on Polito’s phone said, “Good to see you made the news!!” according to the more than 200-page final report police released more than a year after the mass shooting. The person who sent the text message lives out of state and told police he did not know Polito was involved in the shooting and was referring to Las Vegas in general.

As the 8 News Now Investigators reported after the shooting, Polito had applied to four positions at the university but was not interviewed for any. Polito also applied to other positions within the Nevada System of Higher Education but was rejected, police said.

Lee Business School professors Dr. Jerry Cha-Jan Chang (right) and Dr. Patricia Navarro Velez (left); and College of Liberal Arts professor Dr. Naoko Takemaru (center) died in the shooting. A fourth professor shot in the incident survived. (UNLV/KLAS)

“Based on interviews, Polito’s perceived superiority and dissatisfaction with the lack of appreciation for his talents were likely aggravating factors,” police said in the report. “Those closest to him noted his frustration with his lack of employment in Las Vegas.”

Polito targeted offices in Beam Hall, focusing on the fourth and fifth floors, police said.

In a Beam Hall hallway, police found laminated cards, which they described as a target list, with photos, names and room numbers of professors in the school’s business department, the 8 News Now Investigators reported in the aftermath. The cards also contained photos and names of professors at East Carolina University, documents said. The two-sided cards contain pictures and room numbers for 12 staff, including the dean, vice dean and other professors.

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Photo of AnthoOn Dec. 6, 2023, Anthony Polito, 67, committed the mass shooting at UNLV. (KLAS)

Polito moved to the Las Vegas valley in 2017, the report said, to teach at Roseman University. The university later ended the program Polito taught and he was terminated. UNLV first denied Polito employment in 1994, police said.

In July 2022, Polito bought a pistol in Henderson and then “progressively purchased” items including magazine holders and ammunition, police said. He was also in severe debt, owing $75,000 to credit card companies, police said.

While searching Polito’s Henderson apartment, detectives found a note on the door indicating he received a 30-day eviction notice to “pay rent or quit,” the report said. The notice was dated Dec. 6, the day of the shooting, but put on the door after the shooting had already occurred. The leasing company where Polito lived called Polito twice before the shooting about missing that month’s rent, police said.

Police also found a will on Polito’s dining room table. Officers also located a to-do list, which included “create a will” and “write up an obituary,” police said.

Also inside the apartment, detectives located “a vast quantity of women’s dresses that women and prostitutes would wear for his entertainment,” police said. “Each hanger had a size delineator tag with each dress. One style in particular was in four different colors. Each series of dress, color and style ranged in sizes from 2 to 12. These dresses were not worn by Polito since he was much larger than any sizes present.”

On dozens of digital devices Polito kept in his home and in a safety deposit box, detectives said they located files about UNLV, Polito’s applications and a map of Beam Hall. Polito also had folders containing information about faculty with information from news articles and public records. One folder was titled “DevilBosses,” according to police.

On Nov. 5, a month before the shooting, Polito visited the UNLV campus and parked in a lot, police said. Based on video evidence, it does not appear Polito exited his car.

Before the shooting, Polito sent 22 letters to people across the country from a Las Vegas valley post office, police said. All of the letters contained a white power, which was determined to not be hazardous.

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Before the shooting, Polito mailed 22 letters to various people, including some on his lamented cards, police said. The letters included “Happy Aniversary” cards and several contained talc. (LVMPD)

The letters included “Happy Aniversary” cards and several contained talc. No letter was addressed to any current UNLV faculty.

Police said Polito likely “had delusions of grandeur” and used a photo of Robert De Niro on social media and

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“He frequented conservative subreddits and posted far-right memes and misogynistic content,” detectives said. Polito also “was fixated… and obsessive about student reviews,” telling “students he remembers faces, names and seating arrangements of those who gave him bad reviews.”

Polito also kept homemade ************ on his devices, with police adding it was unclear if the other party consented to the recording. At least two devices contained nearly 2,000 pictures of a room with instructions for a spy camera, police said.

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Dresses hung by size and style inside Anthony Polito’s apartment. (LVMPD)

“He had no documented social life, aside from using sugar daddy and swinger-type websites,” police said.

Polito’s website hosted his “theories” on “various mysteries and puzzles,” including one that claimed that he had solved the Zodiac killer case.

In the year since the shooting, the UNLV community created six murals for the entrance to Beam Hall: “The intention is to reframe the experience of walking into the building and support healing while honoring the memories of the professors lost,” a spokesperson said.

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