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by WILL FOLKS
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A false alarm of an active shooter on the campus of the University of South Carolina has sparked a political firestorm – with the state’s top prosecutor blasting his Republican primary rival in the Palmetto State’s governor’s race for her commentary during the incident.
We reportedly extensively on this chaotic situation as it unfolded on Sunday (August 24, 2025)… documenting confusing reports emanating from the school regarding the incident, which reportedly took place at the Thomas Cooper library.
It turns out there was a good reason for the confusion…
School officials have since confirmed the incident was a swatting hoax – i.e. a situation in which emergency services are intentionally relayed false information with the goal of provoking a law enforcement response. According to the school, two calls were placed by an unidentified male from an unknown, presumably off-campus number just moments before the flurry of campus-wide alerts.
One of those calls allegedly included the sound of gunfire in the background – triggering the warnings and deluge of first responders.
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Responding officers were unable to locate an active shooter, identify any gunshot victims or uncover any evidence a shooting had taken place.
“We could not find an active shooter,” campus police told reporters in the aftermath of the swatting hoax.
Our Andy Fancher – who was on the scene Sunday evening – confirmed speaking to multiple individuals who swore they heard “gunshots,” specifically separate bursts of shots from inside the library. Those reports have been confirmed by other media outlets.
South Carolina is one of several institutions of higher learning to receive similar swatting hoaxes in recent days, including Villanova, UT-Chattanooga, Arkansas and Iowa State.
While police searched and secured the scene, social media exploded with reports of would-be assailants – including videos of “umbrella man,” a South Carolina student who was filmed from multiple angles walking across a pedestrian overpass with an umbrella which some viewers mistook for a weapon. U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace – who has a child attending USC – referenced this individual on her social media page as the drama unfolded.
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RELATED | ‘ACTIVE SHOOTER’ REPORTED ON SOUTH CAROLINA CAMPUS
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On Tuesday (August 26, 2025), the campaign of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson – Mace’s top rival in the 2026 South Carolina governor’s race – blistered her for these social media posts, accusing her of “a reckless pattern of behavior that undermines both public safety and respect for the law.”
“If Nancy Mace truly stood for law and order, she’d act like it,” Wilson’s deputy campaign manager Claire Brady said. “Instead, on Sunday she doxxed an innocent college student during an active shooting hoax unnecessarily putting the student in harm’s way. On Monday she parked her official vehicle in a handicapped spot to give herself VIP access at a campaign event.”
Brady said Mace’s “reckless behavior puts people’s safety and respect for the law at risk.”
“South Carolinians need a leader who leads by example, not one who plays politics with their safety,” Brady said. “While Mace was doxxing innocent students carrying an umbrella, Alan Wilson was on the phone with law enforcement, university officials, and U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi, working to keep people safe and ensure accurate information was shared.”
Mace’s campaign was having none of Wilson’s broadside. According to spokeswoman Sydney Long, Mace’s vehicle was parked in a handicapped spot because one of her campaign staffers has a permanent disability.
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“The vehicle in question was parked in a handicapped space because a member of our team, who has a permanent disability license plate and status, was present,” Long said. “Maybe he should focus on prosecuting pedophiles and not attacking a disabled staffer for cheap political points.”
Mace’s team member, Lisa McCulley, also pushed back at Wilson’s criticism.
“As a permanently disabled member of Team Mace, I am outraged that Alan Wilson would stoop so low as to attack Nancy Mace by weaponizing my disability,” McCulley wrote on Facebook. “I live every day with a permanent disability and even have a disability plate that reflects that. It is disgraceful that the attorney general of this state doesn’t even grasp that not all disabilities are visible.”
Mace addressed the swatting hoax on Sunday evening.
“As the mom of a student at USC, (the incident) was terrifying,” she wrote on X. “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. I am eternally grateful for law enforcement from every agency who immediately went to work to protect our kids. The security at USC are trained by the FBI, and watching this and many other videos, that much is evident. They were swift, they were professional, they were fast.”
Mace and Wilson are the two current frontrunners for South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial nomination – a pivotal primary election scheduled for June 9, 2026.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track the political fallout from this incident…
BANNER VIA: ANDY FANCHER
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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6 comments
Oh, for the love of… Can we just let the investigation run and see what falls out of it?
Mace is just more proof that women should not be entrusted with positions of leadership. Too much of what they do in these cases is based on emotion and hormonal fluctuations.
“Swatting” hoax calls are seriously dangerous. There is a very real possibility that someone can get shot because of spilt second judgment calls that sometimes, tragically, go wrong. Some people have cardiac arrest from the panic of being in those situations, and in other cases people can get seriously hurt or even killed by being run over by cars while trying to run for their lives, or jumping out of buildings to escape. That hoaxer needs to be found and prosecuted to the hilt. And the people that were injured in the response should sue them into poverty. Make an example of them so that others who might think that is funny think twice.
Nancy is always ready to shove her giant fake tiddies into the limelight. Wilson’s not any better. Dump them all.
Nancy’s disabled staffer should be able to obtain a placard allowing any vehicle she’s using or riding in to legally use a handicapped parking spot.
It sounds like Nancy is the one using her staff member’s disability. Was the staff member driving? If not, why couldn’t she be dropped off at the door while Nancy or other staff members parked the car in a non-handicapped zone?