Heretic Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Here we go again.... By Ralph Ellis and Ed Payne, CNN Updated 11:22 AM ET, Thu June 18, 2015 Story highlights Dylann Roof, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, is the suspect in Wednesday's shooting The shooter spent an hour at a prayer meeting before opening fire, police chief says Eight died at the scene in downtown Charleston, South Carolina; a ninth died at a hospital Charleston, South Carolina (CNN)[Latest developments] • Charleston church shooting suspect Dylann Roof has been taken into custody in North Carolina, a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN's Deborah Feyerick. • Roof, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, is the suspect in Wednesday's deadly shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, city police said Thursday. • Witnesses say the suspect stood up and said he was there "to shoot black people," a law enforcement official said. The shooter is also thought to have used a handgun, according to the official. [Full story] Dylann Roof. The white man who killed nine people at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, told his victims he was there "to shoot black people," a law enforcement official said Thursday, citing witnesses to the shooting. The suspect, identified as Dylann Roof, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, was still at large on Thursday as law enforcement officers searched the region. The man spent an hour in a prayer meeting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Wednesday night before he opened fire, Charleston police Chief Greg Mullen said Thursday morning. A law enforcement official says witnesses told them the suspect stood up and said he was there "to shoot black people." The shooter is also believed to have used a handgun, according to the official. Police were searching for information about Roof. A picture of him on social media showed him wearing a jacket with what appear to be the flags of apartheid-era South Africa and nearby Rhodesia, a former British colony that was ruled by a white minority until it became independent in 1980 and changed its name to Zimbabwe. Mayor: Only motive to kill during church prayer is hate 02:05 Six females and three males were killed, Mullen said. Three people survived, including a woman who received a chilling message from the shooter. "Her life was spared, and (she was) told, I'm not going to kill you, I'm going to spare you, so you can tell them what happened," Charleston NAACP President Dot Scott told CNN. Scott said she heard this from the victims' family members. Federal authorities have opened a hate crime investigation into the shooting at the oldest AME church in the South, the Department of Justice said. "The only reason someone would walk into a church and shoot people that were praying is hate," Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said. Among the victims was the church's politically active pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, his cousin, South Carolina state Sen. Kent Williams, told CNN. Pinckney was also a state senator and one of the black community's spokesmen after the slaying of an unarmed man by a North Charleston police officer earlier this year. The Rev. Clementa Pinckney speaks at the church in Charleston in December 2012. There were 13 people inside the church when the shooting happened -- the shooter, the nine people who were killed and three survivors, South Carolina state Sen. Larry Grooms, who was briefed by law enforcement, told CNN. Two of the survivors were not harmed, he said. It was not clear if the man targeted any individual. "We don't know if anybody was targeted other than the church itself," Mullen said. Historic significance Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church has been a presence in Charleston since 1816, when African-American members of Charleston's Methodist Episcopal Church formed their own congregation after a dispute over burial grounds. It was burned to the ground at one point, but rebuilt. Throughout its history, it overcame obstacle after obstacle -- destroyed by an earthquake, banned by the state. But its church members persevered, making it the largest African-American church in terms of seating space in Charleston today. A storied church in a historic city Mullen said video cameras at the church show the suspect is in his early 20s and stands 5 feet, 9 inches tall. Police said he may be driving a black Hyundai with vehicle tag LGF330, police said. Police described the gunman as clean-shaven with a slender build and sandy blond hair. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots. On Thursday morning, police handed out images of the man and his car taken from surveillance footage and asked for the public's help in identifying him. Officials say they think he is still in the Charleston area, but they have contacted law enforcement authorities elsewhere to be on the lookout. "This is a very dangerous individual," Mullen said. "He should not be approached by anyone. Call law enforcement if you recognize the individual or the car so we can take appropriate action." Police are "going through all kinds of video" and trying to identify any private or public video that may show anything useful for the investigation, Mullen said. Late Wednesday night, news cameras showed officers taking a man matching that description into custody, but he was later released. A call for healing Authorities said they were shocked not only by the killings but that the violence occurred in a house of worship. "People in prayer Wednesday evening. A ritual, a coming together, praying, worshiping God. An awful person to come in and shoot them is inexplicable," Riley said. The killing put the nation's spotlight once again on the Charleston region. Several months ago, Walter Scott, an unarmed black man, was fatally shot in the back by a North Charleston police officer, a killing that was captured on video. Pinckney backed a bill to make body cameras mandatory for all police officers in South Carolina. "Body cameras help to record what happens. It may not be the golden ticket, the golden egg, the end-all-fix-all, but it helps to paint a picture of what happens during a police stop," Pinckney said in April. Mayor Riley, who's seen Charleston go through ups and downs during his 40 years as mayor, said the city must immediately start the healing process. "We can catch this no-good, horrible person and see that he pays the price," he said. "And then what we will do, and what this community has always done, is we are going to put our arms around that church and that church family." After the shooting, church and community members converged on the area to pray in the street, often while holding hands. Dot Scott, the NAACP leader, said family and friends of the victims gathered at the Embassy Suites motel near the church after the shooting. The city set up a victims' assistance center there. "There were at least 50 or more people there," she said. "There were families of the victims, grandchildren, council members, and a bunch of people there." Scott said that's where she heard about the shooter sparing the woman in the church. "I did not hear this verbatim from the almost victim, I heard it from at least half a dozen other folks that were there and family of the victims," she said. "There seems to be no question that this is what the shooter said." 'Sick to our stomachs' The church sits in an area of Charleston densely packed with houses of worship and well-preserved old buildings. The streets of the neighborhood are normally filled with tourists. Charleston, as several church leaders pointed out, is known as the "Holy City" because of its numerous churches and tolerant attitude toward different denominations. Early Thursday morning, residents stood in circles, hands clasped and heads bowed, as they prayed. "Like everybody out here, we're sick to our stomachs that this could happen in a church," said Rep. Dave Mack, a friend of the church's pastor. They called for justice, but also for calm. Theirs is a strong community, they said, and this incident wouldn't tear them apart. The president of the NAACP expressed his outrage over the shooting. "There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture," Cornell William Brooks said. Republican presidential candidates canceled campaign events in South Carolina. Jeb Bush canceled a scheduled town hall in Charleston on Thursday. "As the #Charleston police deem this horrific act a hate crime," the King Center tweeted, "we pray vigorously that this person's hate does not cultivate more hate." http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/18/us/charleston-south-carolina-shooting/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 There are no words. Somethings seriously fracked up in the world today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NucksPatsFan Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Haven't seen this story going viral on twitter, which is sad, because if it was a shooter of any other skin color it would've gone viral last night when this happened. I'll put my money down on they blame this on "mental health problems" because he's white and we don't hear about this again. Heart goes out to those affected by this terrible tragedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejazz97 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 So sad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetErDoneGMJB Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Wow.. on Instagram someone said that he planted bombs around the area, but that was probably a lie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Another link: http://www.ijreview.com/2015/06/347431-11-things-know-morning-horrific-church-massacre-charleston-south-carolina/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Owned&utm_term=liftbump&utm_campaign=Crime Charleston Church Shooter Sat At Prayer Meeting For An Hour Before Opening Fire http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeednews/charleston-church-shooting-latest?utm_term=.jaMXY3p6N … via @buzzfeednews @buzzfeednews He sat with those people he killed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejazz97 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 ^He's 21. He's probably never killed before. He was probably fighting over whether he should or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Hopefully he has the decency to commit one kind act and hang himself to save taxpayers the money on him. Where's Darren Wilson when you need him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejazz97 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Hopefully he has the decency to commit one kind act and hang himself to save taxpayers the money on him.Where's Darren Wilson when you need him? The filmmaker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeefcakeBo Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Haven't seen this story going viral on twitter, which is sad, because if it was a shooter of any other skin color it would've gone viral last night when this happened. I'll put my money down on they blame this on "mental health problems" because he's white and we don't hear about this again. Heart goes out to those affected by this terrible tragedy. Would it be wrong if people pinned it on mental health problems? Clearly to me anyone that murders 9 people for no apparent reason has mental health problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejazz97 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Would it be wrong if people pinned it on mental health problems? Clearly to me anyone that murders 9 people for no apparent reason has mental health problems. Apparently it was a hate crime against blacks. Not no apparent reason. Maybe not a good reason, but a reason nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeefcakeBo Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Apparently it was a hate crime against blacks. Not no apparent reason. Maybe not a good reason, but a reason nonetheless. The point is that it's not a valid reason to murder 9 people. If they did something to provoke it, maybe you could justify it, or at least understand it. Except this is for literally no reason, other than this guy was seriously sick in the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejazz97 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 The point is that it's not a valid reason to murder 9 people. If they did something to provoke it, maybe you could justify it, or at least understand it. Except this is for literally no reason, other than this guy was seriously sick in the head. Apparently he said this to one of the survivors: "You rape our women and are taking over our country and you have to go." It may be a hate crime from our point of view, but from his, he was defending his country. It may be why he was so cooperative with the officer who arrested him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 The point is that it's not a valid reason to murder 9 people. If they did something to provoke it, maybe you could justify it, or at least understand it. Except this is for literally no reason, other than this guy was seriously sick in the head. He's a full-blown racist. That's all there is to it. People have been killing people over their race for millennia, and it was seen as a reasonable reason (which is fracked). While he may be "sick in the head" (well, he definitely is), I doubt he truly has any diagnosable mental health disorder. I'm not in favour of the death penalty, but in cases like this it should be applied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 The point is that it's not a valid reason to murder 9 people. If they did something to provoke it, maybe you could justify it, or at least understand it. Except this is for literally no reason, other than this guy was seriously sick in the head. At this point trying to dig into is head would be a waste of time, and the media will just turn him into another James Holmes celebrity shooter like CNN will with 24/7 coverage for the next month. Cops should have just accidentally killed the guy. Also, not that you should judge a book by its cover but his whole appearance screams "I've got problems" or "my head is used as a swiffer mop". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 You could say this was a mass shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Dylann, who is from Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, had previously been arrested twice for drug possession and trespassing and was recently given a gun as a birthday present. Good job America. Giving a gun to someone who is mentally unstable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 You could say this was a mass shooting. Special place in hell. (I laughed, crap) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Special place in hell. (I laughed, crap) That's ok; it doesn't exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 k, but in all honesty it's obviously terrible. But then again it's America, what do you expect. We were due, it's been a while.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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