Fourteen hours after the massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, in which the church pastor and a prominent state senator, was among the dead, the police managed to arrest Dylann Storm Roof, a 21-year-old white man with an unsettled personal life and a recent history of anti-black views.
The Massacre of nine people who gathered Wednesday night for Bible study at a landmark black church has left many in shock in Charleston. Six women and three men, including the pastor, died in the attack.
A hate crimes investigation has been launched.
Roof was taken into custody in North Carolina not long after law enforcement officials identified him as the sole suspect in the Wednesday night massacre.
The attack is said to be the deadliest attack on a place of worship in the United States in 24 years.
The victims of the attack were between the ages 26 and 87.
They included a library manager, a track and field coach and a state senator, Clementa Pinckney, who also served as senior pastor at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where the shooting occurred.
Security officers say Roof, who is white, declared his hatred for black people before opening fire, and the U.S. Justice Department has said it is investigating the attack as a hate crime.
Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said Roof was arrested during a traffic stop in Shelby, N.C., at around 11 a.m. Mullen said Roof “was cooperative with the officer who stopped him” in Shelby, about 250 miles by road northwest of Charleston.
