5 hours ago

Nancy Mace Faces Backlash For Falsely Identifying Man As School Shooter

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is facing backlash after she posted a photo of a man she falsely described as a campus shooter following reports of an active shooting at the University of South Carolina’s campus on Sunday.

The university sent out an alert Sunday around 6:30 p.m. to its students and staff about an active shooter who had been reportedly seen near the Thomas Cooper Library.

School officials initially described the suspect as “6 ft tall white male with black pants” in an alert.

Mace, whose child attends the university, warned in a since-deleted post Sunday that the “alleged shooter” was a “white male” wearing “black shorts, grey t-shirt, backpack,” according to multiple outlets.Alongside the post, she included a photo of a man walking on campus with an object in his hand.

But that image was never released by police, and it turned out there was never a shooter at all.

Another university alert sent out around 7:10 p.m. said there was no evidence of an active shooter, though police were still searching the area. The active shooter reports turned out to be part of a swatting hoax, a school spokesperson later told CNN.

The man in the photo that Mace shared was later determined to be holding an umbrella.

Though there was no gunfire, the false reports caused panic. School officials confirmed that several students were treated by first responders for minor injuries that occurred during evacuation.

And Mace’s erroneous image sparked outrage from some social media users for how it contributed to the situation.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., arrives for a Republican caucus meeting in Washington, Oct. 20, 2023.

Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh mocked Mace, sarcastically writing, “Really grateful for Nancy Mace. She bravely alerted the public to the dangers of a guy carrying an umbrella.”

Another X user called out Mace for being “irresponsible,” writing, “She deleted it but my God how irresponsible can Nancy Mace be?”

Someone else argued that Mace’s sharing of the photo could’ve turned deadly.

“South Carolina police say there is no shooter on the campus of USC. The image shared by @NancyMace was obtained from X, and was of a student carrying an umbrella,” they wrote. “The image was not released by law enforcement or an official authority, and could have resulted in him being killed.”

A separate user slammed Mace for never apologizing for her dangerous mistake.

“If you thought Nancy Mace was going to apologize after spending her day falsely accusing a kid with an umbrella of being a school shooter, you thought wrong,” they wrote.

Mace followed up her X post by calling the incident a “terrifying experience.”

“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,” she wrote Sunday. “This was a terrifying experience for students on campus and their families.

Mace added: “Many are confused after being told there was an active shooter. Some are even afraid to return.”

A spokesperson for Mace didn’t immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

In a separate post, Mace said she had been “frantically calling” her child, who attends the university, during the incident. She also thanked law enforcement for their “fast” and “professional” response.