Guelph prof faces threats over social media post about Trump assassination attempt

University of Guelph officials say they're aware of a professor's comments posted to social media on Saturday following the gunfire at a Donald Trump rally on the weekend and are taking the matter seriously. 

Shoshanah Jacobs posted on X, formerly Twitter, following the assassination attempt near Butler, Penn., on the former U.S. president and current Republican presidential candidate.

The biology professor shared a video from MSNBC of the aftermath of the shooting, and in her post, wrote: "When 4 inches really matters."

Trump survived the shooting but was bleeding from the upper part of his right ear. A 50-year-old man attending the rally was also shot but died and two other people were wounded.

The southern Ontario university said in a statement that it's taking the professor's social media post "seriously and are currently looking into the matter."

"The University of Guelph does not condone violence of any kind. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with those affected by the events of Saturday," reads the statement .

Fallout from social media post

Jacobs has since faced extensive backlash for the post and received threats of harm, Guelph police spokesperson Scott Tracey told CBC News.

"We were notified of those threats on Sunday evening by officials at the University of Guelph," Tracey said. 

"We subsequently have spoken to officials at the university's campus safety office, as well as with the professor involved who made the post, and it's an ongoing situation."

Tracey said one threat specifically was to cause harm to Jacobs and was sent to her email from an unknown sender.

Jacobs replied to a handful of people in her comments, reiterating that the post was taken out of context. 

"Four inches towards the centre of his head would have killed him. Therefore, they really mattered," one of Jacobs's replies said.

While some commenters said they felt Jacobs was being disingenuous and deserves to be fired, Jacobs replied on her post that people have interpreted her comment incorrectly. 

Jacobs's X account was since switched from public to private.

Comments by a University of British Columbia professor are also being reviewed after Karen Pinder commented on Jacobs's post. 

Posts that appeared on a now-deleted X account belonging Pinder said, "Damn, so close. Too bad," and then later, in response to a comment, "What a glorious day this could have been!"

CBC News reached out to Jacobs and her lawyer. Both said they would not comment on the situation.