A 21-year-old white male is now in custody after the shooting deaths of nine South Carolina church-goers late Wednesday night.
The gunman, Dylann Roof, opened fire at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historically black church in downtown Charleston, at around 9 p.m. before fleeing the scene and remaining at large for 13 hours.
At a news conference, Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said that authorities arrived on the scene and found eight people dead inside the church. Two other victims were taken to the hospital where one of them died.
"This is a tragedy that no community should have to experience," Mullen said. "It is unfathomable that somebody would walk into a church where people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives."
Mullen says that the investigation will move forward under the assumption that the shooting was a hate crime.
"The only reason someone would walk into a church and shoot people who are praying is out of hate," he added.
According to witnesses, Roof walked into the church during and asked to join the group's bible study circle. He sat and prayed with the victims one hour before opening fire and killing six women and three men. Among those killed were state senator and pastor of the church, Rev. Clementa Pinckney, and his sister.
A relative of one of the victims shot inside the church claims that, before opening fire, Roof said, "I have to do it. You rape our women and you're taking over our country."
ABC News reported heavily armed police and FBI agents surrounding the area of the crime before all reporters were pushed back after a bomb threat was called in near the area. Charleston police say the threat ended without incident by early Thursday morning. Police later released images of the gunman on Twitter, stating that he was clean-shaven 21-year-old white male wearing a gray sweatshirt. Roof was later identified as the shooter by his uncle, who recognized him via surveillance footage.
"The more I look at him, the more I'm convinced that's him," Carson Cowles told Reuters.
According to court records, Roof was arrested in Lexington County on March 2 for drug charges, and again on April 26 for trespassing. In a photo on Roof's Facebook page, he is seen wearing a jacket with patches of flags of white-ruled African states, including Rhodesia and apartheid-era South Africa. In another photo that is being shared on Twitter, Roof is seen standing in front of his car, a black Hyundai, with a license plate inscribed with the Confederate States of America logo.
Roof was arrested at a traffic stop in Shelby, N.C. late Thursday morning and is currently being interviewed by police.
Dot Scott, the president of the Charleston NAACP told the Post and Courier that Roof left one woman alive in the church so that he would have a witness recount the story to others. Police are still identifying the victims. In addition to Reverend Pinckney and his sister, another victim has been identified as Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, a mother of three and a high school track coach.
A prayer vigil was held early Thursday morning to mourn the victims who were lost in the shooting.
