Days after the murder of three faculty members at a Nevada university, the final victim was identified as “a noted scholar, author, and award-winning educator.”
(Video: ABC News)
The apparent targeting of faculty and staff at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Wednesday by a 67-year-old suspect resulted in the death of three professors, and the injury of another individual before officers shot and killed the armed assailant.
After authorities had previously announced the identities of business school professor Dr. Cha-Jan Chang, 64, and accounting department assistant professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, associate professor of Japanese Studies Dr. Naoko Takemura, 69, was named as the third victim.
In a message from UNLV President Keith Whitfield shared on social media, Takemaru was honored Friday as he expressed, “With sadness, I write to you…as we mourn the tragic passing of Dr. Naoko Takemaru, who earlier today was confirmed to be among the three UNLV faculty members who lost their lives during Wednesday’s shooting.”
“Dr. Takemaru was an associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, within the UNLV College of Liberal Arts. She was a noted scholar, author, and award-winning educator, who just recently marked her 20th year as a member of UNLV’s faculty. Dr. Takemaru coordinated Japanese language programs and taught numerous courses on Japanese culture, business, and language,” he continued. “She was incredibly dedicated to her students, having earned the premier teaching award from the College of Liberal Arts.”
Dr. Takemaru coordinated Japanese language programs and taught numerous courses on Japanese culture, business, and language. She was incredibly dedicated to her students, having earned the premier teaching award from the College of Liberal Arts.
— UNLV (@unlv) December 8, 2023
In addition to reporting on the 911 calls released to the public, ABC News shared surveillance footage from the campus Wednesday as the suspect engaged in a shootout with police estimated to have taken place about 10 minutes after shots were initially fired at UNLV’s Beam Hall. During the firefight, he was fatally struck and the University Police officers credited with neutralizing the suspect were Det. Nathaniel Drum and Ofc. Damien Garcia.
University Police Services Southern Command Chief Adam Garcia lauded their response and said, “These two officers are heroes. They kept the worst from becoming a bloodbath.”
As previously reported, the suspect was a former employee of East Carolina University in North Carolina. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill later disclosed the suspect had applied for “numerous” jobs in Nevada’s higher education system and had mailed 22 letters to university employees throughout the country with no return address, one of which was said to have contained a harmless white powdery substance.
The 911 calls themselves contained frightened pleas from people on campus including a woman said to have been crying under an office desk as she said, “Someone’s shooting inside the office. Please hurry.”
The woman explained that she was alone as she told the operator, “It’s just me. My boss is working from home.”
In another call, an individual was heard telling dispatch, “I was getting off the elevator. I heard shots fired and screaming and I ran…Lots of students are running out…Two officers ran into the building and I ran out of the building.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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