Congresswoman Nancy Mace has been roasted online, for posting a picture of an alleged campus shooter, but it was just a man with an umbrella.
Panic broke out Sunday evening when the University of South Carolina issued an alert stating there was a “credible report” of an active shooter at a campus library and instructed students to shelter in place.
Mace, a South Carolina Republican running for governor who has a child attending the university, shared a photo of a man walking while holding a black, folded-up umbrella.
“Here is the alleged school shooter at USC – BOLO – white male, black shorts, grey tshirt, backpack,” she wrote on X in a now-deleted post shared by Mediaite.
The university later lifted the shelter-in-place order and said police had “uncovered no evidence that a shooting occurred.” They said there were two minor injuries from people evacuating the library.
Mace was shamed for her post, with right-wing commentator Matt Walsh writing, “Really grateful for Nancy Mace. She bravely alerted the public to the dangers of a guy carrying an umbrella. This is why we need common sense umbrella control.”
Fred Guttenberg, who has worked to reduce gun violence after the 2018 death of his daughter in the Parkland school shooting, said Mace was “wrong.”
“Now would be an appropriate time to talk about how to appropriately punish you for this false post that could have gotten someone killed,” he wrote. “As the father of Jaime, killed in the Parkland shooting, everything about you and your messaging is the problem. Seek help as I firmly believe you are in need.”
Bryan Dawson, who says he’s a gun owner in favor of gun reform, called Mace an “attention-seeking POS who’s running for Governor. A perfect MAGA Republican.”
The Independent has reached out to Mace’s campaign for comment.
Mace later posted about how the active shooter scare had been 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. 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,” she wrote.
Mace said in another post she was “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.”
