The editor-in-chief of Science Family of Journals and a professor at George Washington University tweeted supporters of the National Rifle Association (NRA) should “burn in hell.”
The @NRA and everyone who supports them should burn in hell.
— Holden Thorp, Science EIC (@hholdenthorp) August 28, 2023
Holden Thorp tweeted the statement after a shooting happened at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, according to a bio on the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also the chancellor of the university between 2008 and 2013, according to the bio. (RELATED: Police Give All Clear After Reported Shooting At North Carolina Campus University)
So devastated by what has happened in Chapel Hill and in my departmental home starting when I was 18 years old. Love to all. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😢😢😢😢
— Holden Thorp, Science EIC (@hholdenthorp) August 28, 2023
He shared more about the shooting in other tweets. “Love you all so much. Please be okay,” he said in another tweet replying to a video mentioning shots fired at UNC Chapel Hill.
Love you all so much. Please be ok. https://t.co/WOPcvsrYUw
— Holden Thorp, Science EIC (@hholdenthorp) August 28, 2023
A faculty member at the university was shot and killed which sent the campus into lockdown, the Associated Press reported. Students also reportedly jumped out of windows to escape the alleged gunman, Tailei Qi, according to the Daily Mail. Qi reportedly became a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill after studying at Louisiana State University at Wuhan University in China, the outlet noted.
Classes were canceled for the rest of the day, the alert system at the university shared.