Prospect Heights – Archbishop George Leo Thomas of Las Vegas expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and survivors of a shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on December 6. Three people were killed, and another critically injured in the incident, which caused the university to go into lockdown.
The suspect, identified as 57-year-old Anthony Polito, a professor who was denied a job at the university, was killed in a shootout with detectives at a building housing the university’s business school. Two of the victims have been identified as faculty members, ChaJan “Jerry” Chang, 64, and Patricia Navarro Velez, 39.
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Archbishop Thomas offered prayers for those affected by the tragedy and called for the Lord’s compassionate embrace to bring solace and strength during this challenging time. UNLV, which is located less than two miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, has approximately 30,000 students.
Sadly, this shooting marks the 630th mass shooting in the US in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The figure is lower than the previous two years, but gun violence remains a significant issue in the country. So far in 2023, over 40,000 people have died from gun violence, including suicides and homicides.
This incident comes just a day after another tragic shooting in Texas, where 34-year-old Shane James killed his parents and four others in separate attacks in Austin and San Antonio. The Catholic Bishop of Austin, Joe Vásquez, expressed his horror at the events and called for prayers and a culture of peace.
President Joe Biden also offered his prayers for the victims and their families, stating that the “epidemic” of gun violence in the US demands action from the federal government. He called on Republicans to join Democrats in passing gun control legislation to prevent further tragedies.
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The shooting at UNLV was recorded as the 42nd mass killing of 2023, resulting in 217 deaths, according to a separate database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. The FBI uses the same definition of mass killings as incidents where four or more people have died within a 24-hour period, not including the perpetrator.
