South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace is facing criticism for posting an online image of a man she falsely described as a campus shooter after the state university issued a “credible report” alert of a shooter in the library on Sunday.
School officials at the university of South Carolina had issued a warning of an active shooter at the university’s Columbia campus at around 6.30pm, later describing the suspect as “a white male with black pants, approximately 6 feet tall and still in the area”.
Students and faculty staff were advised to “evacuate the area or seek safe shelter and barricade yourself in a safe area as necessary until further notice. Defend yourself if you encounter the suspect.”
Subsequent messages stated that there was no evidence of a threat but not before the congresswoman posted a now deleted post warning of a “white male”, wearing “black shorts, grey tshirt, backpack” that she called “the alleged shooter”, along with the picture of a man with what turned out be an umbrella.
Mace’s wrong identification of the man with an umbrella brought commentary from figures from both sides of the debate over guns and gun safety.
Fred Guttenberg, a gun control activist whose 14-year-old daughter was killed in the Parkland high school shooting, said: “Now would be an appropriate time to talk about how to appropriately punish you for this false post that could have gotten someone killed … everything about you and your messaging is the problem. Seek help as I firmly believe you are in need.”
Matt Walsh, a rightwing commentator posted sarcastically: “Really grateful for Nancy Mace. She bravely alerted the public to the dangers of a guy carrying an umbrella.”
Mace later backtracked posting: “Real, or a hoax, or a mistake, now would be an appropriate time to talk about hardened security at schools of all grades, colleges and universities. This was a terrifying experience for students on campus and their families. Many are confused after being told there was an active shooter. Some are even afraid to return.”
Mace, who has a child at the university, later added: “As the mom of a student at USC, tonight was terrifying.
“Frantically calling my child to see if they were at the library or barricaded somewhere else on campus, making sure they and their roommates were safe, your heart just drops to the ground, for a minute you can’t breathe,” Mace wrote, adding: “South Carolina first!”
University officials confirmed to a local news outlet that “a couple of students” were treated by EMS for minor injuries that occurred during evacuation and there were no confirmed reports of shots fired.
The incident points to the pervasive anxiety on school and college campuses. As of 25 July, there have been 33 school shootings in the US this year, with 19 on college campuses, and 14 were on K-12 school grounds. The incidents left 15 people dead and at least 41 other victims injured, according to a CNN analysis.
A study last year by the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Threat Assessment and Management found that in 40% of cases of 1,000 shooter warnings in pre-K schools between 2018 and 2022 it was difficult to determine if the threat was real or a joke.
