The man accused of going on a fatal mass shooting spree in Las Vegas is a college professor who may have been rejected from a job he applied for, while also claiming he cracked ciphers in the infamous Zodiac murder case.
67-year-old Anthony Polito was identified by police as the suspect who fatally shot three people and critically wounded a fourth during Wednesday’s rampage on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, ABC News reported, citing law enforcement sources.
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CNN said investigators were looking into whether Polito was snubbed after sending in his resume for a position at UNLV, leading to the attack.
According to Las Vegas Metro Police, Polito was armed with a handgun as he entered the university’s business school around noon and went floor to floor, shooting four people — three of whom fatally.
The surviving victim was rushed to a local hospital and listed in critical but stable condition. Four other people were also treated for panic attacks.
An army of police officers quickly responded to the college, ordering all students and professors to shelter in place. Two university detectives ultimately got into a shootout with Polito, who was pronounced dead at the scene. It appears he was shot and killed by police.
Meanwhile, Polito reportedly maintained his own website, where he posted a 15-page document, claiming he decoded some of the Zodiac Killer’s cryptic letters sent to the media about the late ’60s and early ’70s serial murders in Northern California. To this day, the Zodiac case remains unsolved.
Polito also has a LinkedIn page, describing himself as a “semi-retired university professor” who worked at East Carolina University from 2001 to 2017. He also professed to have a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Georgia and a master’s in business administration from Duke University.
