Charleston Church Shooting: Nine Killed, Suspect Arrested
UPDATE: Dylann Roff was apprehended by authorities in Shelby, N.C.
He was taken into custody at about 11:15 a.m. during a traffic stop, Charleston police Chief Greg Mullen said. He said local police were acting on the lookout when they notice a car that matched the vehicle description, the license tag and the suspect’s name.
“I can confirm there is a suspect in custody,” U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, providing no further details.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Police are searching for a white male who gunned down nine people at an historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday night.
The shooter, who has been identified by authorities as Dylann Roof, arrived at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and sat through a Bible Study meeting for nearly an hour before he opened fired.
“At the conclusion of the Bible study, from what I understand, they just start hearing loud noises ringing out,” cousin Sylvia Johnson told NBC affiliate WIS-TV, “and he had already wounded — the suspect already wounded a couple of individuals.”
Authorities say three people survived the massacre, while eight churchgoers died at the scene; a ninth at a hospital. Six women and three men, authorities confirmed. Among the victims are the pastor of church, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, whom the shooter specifically asked to sit next to during Bible study.
A woman who survived the shooting says the gunman said he was letting her live so that she could tell people what happened, Charleston NAACP President Dot Scott told CNN.
“People in prayer Wednesday evening. A ritual, a coming together, praying, worshiping God. An awful person to come in and shoot them is inexplicable,” said Charleston Mayor Joe Riley.
For the latest developments on this story visit CNN.
Suspect pictured below:
(Photo Credit: CNN)
