Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is under fire after she wrongly posted a photo of a University of South Carolina student during a campus lockdown — accusing him of being a possible school shooter. The student wasn’t armed. He was carrying an umbrella.
On Sunday night, USC’s Columbia campus went into panic mode after a warning about a “credible report” of an active shooter at the campus library. Students were told to shelter in place. Hours later, the all-clear was given. Police said there was no shooter, no gunfire, and no threat.
That didn’t stop Mace — whose own son attends the university — from jumping online. She posted a picture of a young man on campus and called him a “white male” wearing “black shorts, grey tshirt, backpack.” She described him as the “alleged shooter.”
Turns out, he was just walking in the rain with an umbrella. Mace deleted the tweet. But the damage was done — and people across the political spectrum slammed her.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the Parkland school shooting, didn’t hold back: “This false post could have gotten someone killed,” he said.
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh mocked her too: “Really grateful for Nancy Mace. She bravely alerted the public to the dangers of a guy carrying an umbrella.”
Outrage continued to build, with some online saying the student should sue. “She put a target on his back,” one post read. “That kid should sue her a**.”
Mace later said the lockdown was “terrifying” for families and students, and used the moment to call for tougher security at schools and universities. She also mentioned “frantically calling” her son while the campus was locked down and thanked law enforcement.
University officials confirmed there were no serious injuries — just minor scrapes during the evacuation.
But critics say Mace’s rush to judgment could’ve easily ended in disaster.
Check her post and some of the responses below:
