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A Love Island watch party at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill turned terrifying Monday (August 31), when a man entered the event, used racist language and pulled an item from his bag that students said resembled a gun.
The on-campus event was advertised on social media and co-hosted by several Black student organizations. About 80 to 100 people attended, most of them Black first-year students, according to The Daily Tar Heel.
Students initially thought the man was a professor who had stayed late in the building, an African Student Association executive board member told the newspaper.
The situation escalated when he grabbed a box of chips and threw it at students. UNC first-year student Mariana Prieto was among those hit.
Samuel Scarborough, senior adviser for the Black Student Movement, described what happened next.
“Things got thrown around and that’s when, after that initial commotion, he decided to reach into his bag and grab the item that resembled a gun,” Scarborough said. He later said it appeared to be a makeshift flammable device.
Students also noticed a chemical odor. What they initially feared was a gun or explosive device; they later learned it was an aerosol can and lighter.
Multiple students then reported hearing a loud bang, causing students to run for the exits.
“I think it’s safe to say that most, if not all, the students in the room felt like our lives were threatened,” Scarborough said. “We did not feel like we were going to make it out of that room alive.”
“Honestly, I was so terrified,” Prieto said. “I was shaking most of the time.”
The man fled the building and continued harassing students in the Pit before he was detained 17 minutes after the first call to UNC Police. UNC Media Relations said he was hospitalized after exhibiting signs of mental distress, according to The Daily Tar Heel.
Police plan to charge him with disorderly conduct, vandalism, damage to property and aggravated assault once he is medically cleared. He will also be barred from campus, and police have requested an arrest warrant, the newspaper noted.
BSM President Makhi Nash said officers did not arrive at Greenlaw Hall until after the man had been detained following his attempt to flee, prompting Nash’s conclusion that the Alert Carolina system should be reformed.
“At the heart of the Black Student Movement and the heart of being at Carolina, we’re going to stand together and continue to foster spaces where Black students can be in community and not feel scared,” Nash said. “He came in and he did what he did, but he will not win.”
The Black Student Movement condemned the incident as an “act of hate” and expressed support for those affected.
The African Student Association raised concerns about how someone with no apparent connection to UNC was able to enter the event and called for gaps in event security to be addressed.
The UNC-Chapel Hill chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers said it is working with the university and partner organizations to push for stronger protections at future events.
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