USC student verbally threatened political group during event at student union, police say
A University of South Carolina student made a comment threatening a group of students holding a political event in the student union this week, university police say.
The University of South Carolina Police Department was called to the Russell House after a student made a verbal threat involving a gun on Monday.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation was holding a meeting when a 21-year-old student stood up and made a threatening statement, according to a police report.
One person testified that the student stood up and said, “I count there are about 13 of you, and then I think of how many rounds I fit in a magazine,” according to the police report.
The student then tried to flee and was then chased, tackled and restrained near the Bull Street parking garage, where police found him, the report said.
The student told police he meant what he said as a joke and that he ran away because he thought he was going to “get his legs broken,” according to the police report. He said he doesn’t own a gun.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation said that the student who made the comment has right-wing beliefs.
“This is part of a larger attempt by the right wing to use intimidation to silence people’s movements and stop them from organizing,” the party said in a press release. “We refuse to be intimidated by threats of violence and will continue to organize.”
University spokesman Jeff Stensland said the university did a threat assessment and that the student’s campus access was restricted while they gathered facts. The student is now going through the student conduct process.
“The university took immediate action,” Stensland said.
The USC Student Code of Conduct prohibits threats of violence.
This story was originally published April 7, 2023 at 4:21 PM.
