LATEST UPDATE – The suspect in the Charleston shooting, 21 year old Dylann Roof, has been caught in North Carolina.
9:00pm on Wednesday night, Dylann Roof, 21, walked in and started shooting inside a church in historic Charleston, South Carolina. At 110 Calhoun Street, which is home to the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the shooter left 9 victims in his wake and fled the scene.
There is an active manhunt for the suspect. The FBI released the suspect’s picture and name and the Charleston Police Department is requesting any information related to the shooting and the suspect.
The police do not believe that the suspect has left the area. In fact there are a number of reports suggesting that the suspect is still in the area and threating to shoot up other places until he is caught.
The church is a predominantly African American and is the oldest AME church in the south according to the church’s website.
The crime has been called a “hate” crime being that the shooter was white and all his victims were black. There has been no real evidence to prove this is the case. The Mayor was the first to call the crime a hate crime.
“This is an unspeakable and unfathomable act by somebody filled with hate and a deranged mind.” – Charleston, S.C., Mayor Joseph Riley
A spokesman for the Justice Department says that federal officials are going to open an investigation into a hate crime. The FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for South Carolina are also opening up investigations.
