Columbia, S.C. – A simple umbrella touched off a wave of fear at the University of South Carolina on Sunday night, when students and staff were ordered to shelter in place after police received reports of an “active shooter” at the Thomas Cooper Library. The scare has since been linked to a swatting hoax and fueled by viral social media posts that wrongly identified an innocent student.
How It Started
The alarm began around 6:30 p.m., when USC Police received two separate emergency calls claiming shots were fired inside the library. According to authorities, both calls came from an unknown male and even included fake background sounds that mimicked gunfire.
Within minutes, the university sent a Carolina Alert message: “Urgent Carolina Alert: Active Shooter at Thomas Cooper Library on Columbia campus. Subject reported as 6ft white male with black pants. Defend yourself if you encounter the suspect. Obey public safety officials’ commands.”
As students rushed to evacuate, videos quickly spread online showing a young man in black shorts, a green shirt, white sneakers, and a backpack, carrying what some claimed was a rifle. In reality, it was just an umbrella.
OSINTdefender, a popular open-source intelligence account on X, summed it up bluntly: “If this guy carrying an umbrella is what caused people to think there was an active shooter, that would be beyond stupid. Update: That’s exactly what happened.”
Watch Video pic.twitter.com/1h2MeAZXfk
— Brand Leakage (@Brandleakage) August 25, 2025
Police Response
Law enforcement took no chances. USC Deputy Police Chief Scott Prill said officers entered the building “without hesitation,” sweeping it floor by floor alongside backup from the Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Office, SLED, the FBI, ATF, and even fire and EMS crews.
“We have no video of anyone with a gun,” Prill told reporters, adding that police found no shell casings and no sign of gunfire. Two students sustained minor injuries during the chaotic evacuation but were treated and released.
By just after 8 p.m., the university issued an all-clear: “At this time they have uncovered no evidence that a shooting occurred,” USC said in a statement. The library reopened Monday morning.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 25, 2025
The Social Media Spiral
While police confirmed the threat was false, the situation spiraled further online. South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace shared a photo of the student with the umbrella and labeled him the “alleged school shooter.” The post was later deleted after immediate backlash.
Travis Akers, a journalist, warned on X: “The image shared by @NancyMace was obtained from X, and was of a student carrying an umbrella. The image was not released by law enforcement or an official authority, and could have resulted in him being killed.”
Social media users piled on, calling it reckless. “Literally a dude strolling with an umbrella. Jesus…” one wrote. Another posted, “Actually just an innocent guy carrying an umbrella…”
Bigger Picture
This isn’t the first false alarm of the season. Just last week, Villanova University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga went into lockdown after hoax shooter reports. Experts warn that social media and swatting tactics magnify fear, putting real lives at risk.
For gun owners and defenders of the Second Amendment, the USC scare highlights how fear and misinformation can create chaos without a single firearm in sight. Law enforcement resources were diverted, students were injured, and an innocent young man was misidentified as a killer—all because of prank calls and a viral video of an umbrella.
As USC officials noted: “Throughout this incident, our top priority was the safety of our community. Officers responded without hesitation, following their training and established protocols.”
But the episode also underscores a harsh reality: in today’s climate, panic often spreads faster than facts.
This is what happens when the libtards try to make everyone afraid of everything and expect the cops to “protect” everyone.
i mean damn, it is clearly obvious that the thing in this kids hand was an umbrella even in the video.
haven’t they been having a lot of rain in the sc area lately? what do you logically use when it rains?
cops entered the building with no hesitation….. yea cause there was no gunfire and no shooter
Crap like this adds to the public’s fatigue over the gun rights debate. Even though this is a false alarm, a lot of people will never get the rest of the story. It will just be another mass shooting. Never mind no masses were shot nor were there and ARs involved. Never mind this and other articles, YT vids, etc. are giving the straight facts… most will never pursue the truth. This is why gun control has such a foothold and why the rich are succeeding with the money they pour into that gun control effort. The general public cannot… Read more »
Time for some commonsense umbrella control
We just don’t know if this is one of those dangerous assault umbrellas that could be hiding a copy of American Rifleman, a noted after-market extended magazine.
Good thing they identified the target before they shot him.
As far as the phone caller simulating gunfire? That takes SWAT-ing to whole new level of dangerous and stupid.
I know it isn’t the same state, but in State v Casad 2007 the WA Court of Appeals opined, “Casad’s appellate counsel conceded that she would personally react with shock, but she emphasized that an individual’s lack of comfort with firearms does not equate to reasonable alarm. We agree.”
What ever happened to this common sense?
UW Madison received a SWAT call at the universities memorial library. On the non emergency 911 line. Dispatchers quickly accessed the cameras and noticed nobody was acting out of the ordinary. Student and staff were sitting down and no one apparent be evacuating the building.
Unfortunately there has been a lot of park calls of person with guns. It’s only a mater of time before someone gets seriously injured by these a$$hats.
Bunch of pantywaist sissified cucks.