NV - Active Shooter, University of Nevada LV

[BeginnerSleuther]

But acting on them? Thinking they are real and shooting others?
It's possible his conspiracy theories had nothing to do with the shooting.
I guess we wait to see if he left any notes.

Based on what we know, there is no indication this is based on any of the conspiracy theories he's posted about, but even if it was, none of those theories fit the definition of mental illness. They're definitely extreme, but conspiracies about real life events (particularly mysteries with no definitive answer, such as the Malaysia Airlines plane) are considered subcultural shared beliefs that are not true/unlikely to be true. These are not mental illness when exogenous, meaning he isn't invoking himself into it. Had he said he was the savior of the MA plane or something like that, that would be more indicative of a mental illness. Delusions are based on inner experiences -- such as they're the savior or they're the subject of something (government bugging my phones, the girl at the coffee shop is in love with me, I'm the love child of a famous figure, etc).

Subcultural shared beliefs are more a reflection of personality and idiosyncratic traits than they are mental illness.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

That's why I assume he had mental health issues. Otherwise, people get upset, depressed but they don't go on a mass shooting or a spree!

Then we'd have to assume all criminals are mentally ill since none of us would do what they do, even when desperate, and we know that isn't true. There are a lot of perps we talk about here on WS who we don't relate to and who are not mentally ill. IMO

 

[dotr]

Gunman who killed 3 at UNLV did not appear to be targeting students, AP sources say

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A gunman who killed three people, including at least two business school professors, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, before dying in a shootout with

www.thestar.com

''One of Polito’s former students at East Carolina University, Paul Whittington, said Polito went on tangents during class about his many trips to Las Vegas. Polito told his students he visited twice yearly, staying in different hotels and going to various clubs, Whittington said.
“He was really really, really fixated on the city of Las Vegas,” Whittington said. “I think he just really liked going there.”
Polito also seemed obsessive over anonymous student reviews at the end of each semester, Whittington said. Polito told Whittington’s class that he remembered the faces of students who gave him bad reviews and would express that he was sure who they were and where they sat, pointing at seats in the classroom, Whittington said.
“He always talked about the negative feedback he got,” said Whittington, now 33, who took Polito’s intro to operations management class in 2014. “He didn’t get a lot of it, but there would always be one student every semester, or at least one student every class, that would give a negative review. And he fixated on those.”

 

[meanmaryjean]

Based on what we know, there is no indication this is based on any of the conspiracy theories he's posted about, but even if it was, none of those theories fit the definition of mental illness. They're definitely extreme, but conspiracies about real life events (particularly mysteries with no definitive answer, such as the Malaysia Airlines plane) are considered subcultural shared beliefs that are not true/unlikely to be true. These are not mental illness when exogenous, meaning he isn't invoking himself into it. Had he said he was the savior of the MA plane or something like that, that would be more indicative of a mental illness. Delusions are based on inner experiences -- such as they're the savior or they're the subject of something (government bugging my phones, the girl at the coffee shop is in love with me, I'm the love child of a famous figure, etc).

Subcultural shared beliefs are more a reflection of personality and idiosyncratic traits than they are mental illness.

VERY well explained - thank you! I am.filing this away for future reference.

 

[Jinkasaurus]

Any news about why he might have done this in the building/room he did? Or the type of people he targeted (students vs. professors, as an example)?

 

[sunshineray]

My friends in Austin claim that they knew NOTHING about the spree killings.

I talked to someone that morning after with family there and that family knew nothing either. Was there no local coverage when it was happening?

 

[Dotta]

Or the type of people he targeted (students vs. professors, as an example)?

​

"Two of the three UNLV mass shooting victims are identified as female assistant professor in accounting department and male business lecturer."​

First of three UNLV mass shooting victims is identified

The first victims of the horrific University of Nevada mass shooting have been identified as a professor and assistant professor at the college's Las Vegas campus.

www-dailymail-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[vls12345]

I wonder if he had anger management issues? Was in debt (hence needing the job)? Desperate to live/remain in Vegas?

Was he married? Divorced? Have past relationships that sounded warning bells? Will there be exes who decide to discuss his temper?

Imo.

 

[vls12345]

No UNLV students killed in shooting; victims were faculty members, university says

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A gunman who killed three faculty members at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, before dying in a shootout with police, did not appear to be

www.thestar.com

"No UNLV students killed in shooting; victims were faculty members, university says"

 

[Simply Southern]

Resume: Suspect in Las Vegas university shooting graduated from Radford University

TV station KVVU in Las Vegas reports the suspect, killed in a shootout with police, has been identified as 67-year-old Anthony Polito.

www.wdbj7.com

[...]

Polito’s resume says before his stint at ECU, Polito’s academic career started at Virginia’s Radford University, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics. He then went on to graduate with his Masters in Business (MBA) from Duke University at Fuqua and most recently graduated with a Ph.D. in Operations Management from the University of Georgia at Terry.

 

[Chimera]

Sounds like a lifelong injustice collector.
This killer was 67, fgs -- why not just retire or keep looking elsewhere for work if this didn't pan out ?
Omo.

Rest in eternal peace to the deceased ... I am sure they did nothing to warrant this loser's rage.

 

[StephanieH]

That website screams 1996 and it’s way too cluttered..
No wonder he didn’t get the job.

 

[x_files]

I talked to someone that morning after with family there and that family knew nothing either. Was there no local coverage when it was happening?

Barely not until the day AFTER.
No warnings to citizens, nothing.

 

[x_files]

That website screams 1996 and it’s way too cluttered..
No wonder he didn’t get the job.

Disorganized, out-dated thoughts. It screams NOPE!

 

[StephanieH]

He was tenured and voluntarily resigned from East Carolina, but apparently had financial issues and was facing eviction. Gambling problem maybe? UNLV gunman who shot four faculty members, killing three, had a target list: Live updates

 

[Auntie Cipation]

One thing that strikes me oddly is this: when I hear conspiracy theorists and antivaxxers and the like talking about what they believe is real, I'm consistently struck by the apparent ignorance of statistics and logical fallacies that seem to allow such beliefs. But this man had degrees in statistics, so I would expect him to be well aware that, for example, one anecdote does not equate to statistical significance, etc.

MOO

 

[ifindedout]

HomePage, Tony Polito

I’m so confused by his website. This whole page is something he put together? Wowza

This was what many personal web pages looked like in the 1990s, put together by hand-coding HTML. BTDT.

 

[White_Mountains]

HomePage, Tony Polito

I’m so confused by his website. This whole page is something he put together? Wowza

When I looked at the website, it looked like he didn’t understand how to operationalize the bookmark function on his browser. Just seemed like a collection of websites and random stuff he wanted to be able to remember. Reminds me of the 60-something year old professors I work with.

So sad for the victims and their loved ones.

 

[ErinC]

This reminds me A LOT of Amy Bishop. 2010 University of Alabama in Huntsville shooting - Wikipedia In her case, she was denied tenure and snapped. Many years ago, I had plans to become a professor, later abandoned, and the number of academics I met who....I would not have been surprised to later see on the front page of the newspaper...while not really common, there were more such than I'd have thought. Academia can attract really quirky people, and the vast majority of them never do such a thing and never would, but then there's that problematic few.

 

[meanmaryjean]

Las Vegas campus gunman described as struggling academic with 'target list'

The gunman who killed three professors and wounded one at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was a financially struggling academic whose job applications were rejected by several higher-education institutions in Nevada, police said on Thursday.

www.reuters.com

Reuters always with the fact-checked detailed story.