UNLV students waiting near Harmon Avenue and Maryland Parkway form a prayer circle after being evacuated due to an active shooter on the UNLV campus Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
Published Friday, Dec. 8, 2023 | 9:22 a.m.
Updated Friday, Dec. 8, 2023 | 10:19 a.m.
Naoko Takemaru
The Clark County Coroner’s Office has identified the third victim killed in Wednesday’s shooting at UNLV as Associate Professor Naoko Takemaru, 69, of Las Vegas.
Takemaru died of multiple gunshot wounds, officials said.
The two other victims killed in the shooting were previously identified as Professor Cha Jan Chang, 64, of Henderson, and Assistant Professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, of Las Vegas.
All three were killed Wednesday when a gunman, identified by Metro Police as 67-year-old Anthony Polito of Henderson, opened fire at Beam Hall, home to UNLV’s business school.
Polito, a career professor who had been turned down for jobs at several Nevada schools, was killed in a shootout with UNLV Police detectives as he exited the building, authorities said.
A fourth person, a 38-year-old visiting professor at UNLV, was wounded and was in stable condition at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, authorities said.
Takemaru, whose office was in Beam Hall, was an associate professor of Japanese studies. She had taught all levels of Japanese language, conversation, composition, grammar, culture, and Japanese-English translation, according to her biography on UNLV’s website.
She had also coordinated Japanese language programs at the university level.
At UNLV, she oversaw the entire Japanese Studies Program and taught upper-division courses on Japanese language, culture and business, according to her biography.
Besides Japanese language studies, she also specialized in sociolinguistics and gender studies.
Takemaru received the William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Liberal Arts at UNLV.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
