VIDEO: Charleston Church Shooting Suspect Apprehended
Police on Thursday nabbed the 21-year-old man suspected of shooting nine people gathered for Bible study in a Charleston, S.C., church, nearly 14 hours later and 240 miles away after an all-night manhunt, reports Fox News.
Dylann Roof, of Columbia, was captured without incident just before noon in a traffic stop after a tip led police to Shelby, N.C. He was in the black Hyundai sedan seen fleeing the horrific scene at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where the church's pastor, Clementa Pinckney, who was also a state senator, was among those killed.
“We had a number of tips that were coming in,” Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said. “It was amazing the fact that we had teams ... standing by. Whenever we got a lead ... we sent out teams. It was a tremendous effort.”
“I am so pleased that we were able to resolve this case quickly ... so that nobody else is harmed by this individual.”
With Roof in custody, the focus turned to his motives and the victims in the horrific attack that shocked Charleston's close-knit African-American community and prompted President Obama, who knew Pinckney, to say it “raises questions about a dark part of history."
“I’ve had to make statements like this too many times,” Obama said. “Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times. Once again, innocent people were killed because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun."
