Dylann Storm Roof was identified Thursday as the suspect in the shooting that killed nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., on Wednesday night. Click here if you missed it! Attorney Gen. Loretta Lynch and police confirmed shortly after that Roof was arrested in Shelby, N.C., according to LA Times.
CNN further reported that the suspect was arrested Thursday morning about 245 miles (395 kilometers) away in Shelby, North Carolina, and was taken into custody without incident about 11:15 a.m. during a traffic stop, Charleston police Chief Greg Mullen said Thursday morning.
He said local police were acting on a BOLO (be-on-the-lookout) notice that included a vehicle description, the license tag and the suspect’s name.
The shooting which took place about 9 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic black church left three men and six women dead, with the pastor of the church being among the victims.
Authorities said there were three survivors.
Charleston’s police chief said the gunman prayed with victims for an hour before shooting and the incident is being investigated as a hate crime. Witnesses also said the gunman stood up and said he was there “to shoot black people,” a law enforcement official said. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of South Carolina have also opened hate crime investigations.
