Fox News was forced to issue a correction and an apology Tuesday after it used a photo of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) during a news report on a registered sex offender accused of fatally shooting a University of Utah student.
In its initial segment, the network cut to photos of Harris hugging a child instead of the mugshot of 37-year-old suspect Melvin Rowland, who was discovered dead in a Salt Lake City church after being chased by police.
Fox News’ Jillian Mele later corrected the video and issued a formal apology for the on-air blunder.
“In an earlier version of this story, we showed you the wrong video,” Mele admitted. “We showed you pictures of Senator Kamala Harris instead of Melvin Rowland’s mugshot. We apologize for that error.”
Rowland was tracked down by police after reports of shots fired and a possible kidnapping Monday night. Authorities found the body of victim Lauren McCluskey in a car parked at a campus parking lot near a residential building, after which they chased Rowland to local church, where he forced his way inside.
The suspect ultimately died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police said McCluskey had been in a relationship with Rowland and that the two had had an argument earlier that evening. Rowland was not a student at the school.
Watch more in the clip below.
here’s that video via @revrrlewis pic.twitter.com/FjRuu9DLZQ
— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) October 23, 2018
