Nancy Mace is facing backlash for falsely accusing a college student of being a school shooter after mistakenly identifying his umbrella for a rifle.
The South Carolina gubernatorial hopeful, 47, tweeted a grainy picture of the University of South Carolina student on Sunday, warning her followers to be on the lookout for a “white male, black shorts, grey tshirt, backpack.”
Earlier that day, the University of South Carolina issued an alert to students about a potential active shooter. The alert was lifted that evening after police determined that there was no evidence of a shooter or that any gunshots had been fired, News 19 reports. The MAGA Republican, who has a child attending the university, posted live updates about the situation as it was unfolding.
Mace yanked the post after being swiftly debunked by photos showing the student clutching an umbrella, not a weapon.
Now, she is under fire for potentially endangering the young student.
Fred Guttenberg—a leading gun control activist whose daughter was killed in the 2018 Parkland massacre—slammed Mace for spreading a false claim “that could have gotten someone killed.”
Right-wing political commentator Matt Walsh also mocked the MAGA Republican, tweeting, “She bravely alerted the public to the dangers of a guy carrying an umbrella.”
Rather than apologizing for the incident, Mace turned the incident into a political call to action, tweeting: “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.”
Mace’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mace’s race for governor has suffered a few missteps, and, on Thursday, she was forced to cancel a speech when just eight people showed up.
