Polito is described as a college professor who previously worked in North Carolina and Georgia, and had sought a job at UNLV. He apparently did not succeed in that effort.
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Campus police detectives confronted the gunman within minutes of gunfire ringing out on campus Wednesday. He was killed at the scene.
He was armed with a handgun.
Investigators are searching an apartment in Henderson, Nev. believed to be Polito's home, ABC News reports. They have also obtained his phone and are searching it for evidence as to his motive for the shooting. They are also searching through his professional writings for possible clues.
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Authorities have determined that the victims who were killed in the shooting were faculty or staff, not students. That suggests the attack was not entirely random, but it's not clear yet if he knew the particular individuals.
UNLV shooting: Gunman kills 3, wounds 4th person on Las Vegas campus
UNLV shooting: 3 people killed, 1 wounded, shooter dead in confrontation with officers
The investigation at this time indicates he fired first on police before they shot and killed him.
Polito maintained a LinkedIn page and a personal website. On the website, he published a 15-page document on the Zodiac Killer, claiming to have decoded some of the cryptic messages from the killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s.
He also indicates a fondness for Las Vegas, having made some two dozen trips there in the last 15 years and providing numerous links to articles and travel guides on the city.
On LinkedIn, he described himself as a "semi-retired university professor" living in Las Vegas. He also listed employment at East Carolina University from 2001 to 2017. He said he has a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia and a master's in business administration from Duke University.
Correction: A previous version of this story said Polito's LinkedIn profile stated he had a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Georgia. That has since been corrected.