On New Year’s Eve, a 25-year-old Rochester, NY, man named Emanuel Lutchman was arrested after he “planned to commit an armed attack against civilians.” This attack was, according to law enforcement, in the name of ISIS. The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, quickly condemned the plan, noting that it was “an important reminder of the new normal of global terrorism.”

What was not mentioned though, was that this man was homeless, with a long record of mental illness, and the attack was actually a very vague, half-thought out plan involving knives that he was given by an undercover FBI agent.

The Buffalo News reported that the police “obtained copies of electronic communications between Lutchman and a person who said they were a member of the Islamic State in Syria,” despite there being no concrete proof this person he was in contact with was any more a terrorist than Lutchman himself. In fact, it was later reported that Lutchman had to attempt to scale back his so-called plan due to a lack of money.

Social media has played a large role in the ominousness of ISIS, after a picture was posted on August 10 of last year on Twitter, depicting an 80 ton improvised explosive device from ISIS. Nothing was done about this, and fear spread.

Another poorly handled situation was that of Philadelphia’s Edward Archer, who shot a police officer, also “in the name of ISIS.” Upon further investigation though, it was found that Archer was not a practicing Muslim, appeared to be schizophrenic, and there was no evidence of him being radicalized whatsoever.

His mother told reporters, “He’s been acting kind of strange lately. He’s been talking to himself… laughing and mumbling… He’s been hearing voices in his head. We asked him to get medical help.”

While America is no stranger to gun violence linked to mental illness, and there is reason for concern, that does not mean ISIS is in any way involved in every single case. Cases like these perpetuate fear not only throughout the United States, but throughout the world. Law enforcement — and news outlets — must be more careful about labeling people as doing things in the name of ISIS.