“An outstanding scholar, award-winning author and educator”

Days after the murder of three Nevada university professors, the final victim was identified as “a prominent scholar, award-winning author and educator.”

(Video: ABC News)

The apparent targeting of faculty and staff at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Wednesday by a 67-year-old suspect left three professors dead and another injured before officers shot and killed the armed assailant.

After authorities had previously announced the identities of the business school professor, Dr. Cha-Jan Chang, 64, and assistant professor in the accounting department, Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, and associate professor of Japanese Studies, Dra. 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, “It is with sadness that I write to you … as we mourn the tragic death of Dr. Naoko Takemaru, who today was confirmed to be among the three UNLV professors who lost their lives in 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 an outstanding scholar, author and award-winning educator, who recently marked her 20th year as a member of the UNLV 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 won the Faculty's Top Teaching Award Liberal Arts”.

Dr. Takemaru coordinated Japanese language programs and taught numerous courses on Japanese culture, business, and language. He was incredibly dedicated to his students, having won the top teaching award in 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 campus surveillance footage Wednesday of the suspect engaged in a shootout with police that is estimated to have taken place about 10 minutes after the initial shots were fired at Beam Hall at UNLV. During the shootout, he was fatally struck and University Police officers credited with neutralizing the suspect were Det. Nathaniel Drum and Ofc. Damià Garcia

University Police Services Southern Command Chief Adam Garcia praised their response, saying, “These two officers are heroes. They prevented the worst from turning into a bloodbath.”

As before reported, the suspect was a former employee of the University of North Carolina at East Carolina. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill later revealed that the suspect had applied for “numerous” jobs in Nevada's higher education system and had mailed 22 letters to university employees across the country without no return address, one of which was said to contain a harmless white powdery substance. .

The 911 calls contained panicked pleas from people on campus, including a woman who was said to be crying under an office desk as she said, “Someone's shooting up in the office. Please hurry.”

The woman explained that she was alone as she told the operator: “It's me. My boss works from home.”

In another call, a person was heard saying in the office, “I was getting off the elevator. I heard gunshots and screams and I ran. . . . A lot of students are running. . . . Two officers ran into the building and I ran out.”

Staff writer

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College, where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and seeker of truth, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and dog, and when he's not researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel ·the.

Latest messages from Kevin Haggerty (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.

JOIN OUR NEW COMMENT SYSTEM! We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and good conversation. If you've commented with us before, we'll need you to re-enter your email address for this. The public won't see it and we won't share it.