A Canadian man became the focus of a false identification after a shooting incident involving conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at a college in Utah. Michael Mallinson, a 77-year-old retired banker, was in Toronto when he learned of the misidentification through a call from his daughter on Wednesday.

Mallinson was shocked to discover that his photo was circulating online as that of the suspect who shot Kirk, a 31-year-old ally of former President Donald Trump. Social media posts inaccurately claimed that Mallinson was a registered Democrat from Utah and implicated him in the shooting.

“I’m just shocked by it,” Mallinson said. “How quickly it can happen, how one’s name and photo can get spread around quite quickly.”

The confusion may have arisen due to Mallinson's resemblance to the actual suspect, who was briefly detained following the shooting. The false accusations reportedly originated from an account on X, previously known as Twitter, named “Fox 11 Reno.” This account has no affiliation with the legitimate Fox affiliate in Nevada.

A spokeswoman for Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns the Fox affiliate, stated that they are working to shut down the impersonating account. The rapid spread of misinformation highlights the potential dangers of social media in the wake of violent incidents.