Charleston police say only suspect is in custody
Suspect identified as Dylann Roof
Nine dead after ‘hate crime’ attack on historic black church
Pastor Clementa Pinckney named among the dead
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What we know so far
4.19pm ET
Charleston officials have given the all clear on the bomb threat at county building:
UPDATE: At 3:50 pm, #Charleston officials said "all clear" on bomb threat at county building. #chsnews #CharlestonShooting @mboughtonPC
4.09pm ET
The Shelby Starr has profiled the florist who reportedly led police to Dylann Roof. Debbie Dills was running “a little late” to work at Frady’s Florist this morning, when she spotted Roof from her car:
I saw the news coverage last night and the picture of the car. I knew it was a black car, and it had a tag on the front. I saw the pictures of him with the bowl cut,” Dills said through tears. “Since it happened I was praying for them and the church. I was in the right place at the right time that the Lord puts you.”
4.03pm ET
And another picture of Roof:
#DylannRoof looks around at our cameras while being escorted to patrol car. #CharlestonShooting pic.twitter.com/3QXUEY94ch
4.01pm ET
Roof was just seen leaving the Shelby police station, on his way to court for his arraignment:
#CharlestonShooting suspect #DylannRoof just walked out of @ShelbyPolice station on his way to court pic.twitter.com/sIiru2UKa7
3.59pm ET
The only suspect in the shooting, Dylann Roof does not seem to have a heavy social media presence. Despite this, a picture is beginning to emerge of an “introverted” man with a recent record of criminal behavior, writes my colleague Jessica Glenza:
“I don’t know what was going through his head,” Konzny said. “He was a really sweet kid. He was quiet. He only had a few friends.”
A high-school contemporary, John Mullins, told the Daily Beast that the young Roof had been “kind of wild”.
3.43pm ET
A “threat” caused the evacuation of the building where the coroner just spoke:
BREAKING: Alarms sounding in #CharlestonCounty Building. Media being evacuated due to reported threat on building at Bridge View Dr.
There's a threat at Chas council headquarters and we're being evacuated #chsnews
3.32pm ET
The names and ages of all the victims are:
3.31pm ET
Elliott Summey, the Chairman of the city council is now speaking at the press conference and is visibly emotional: Senator Pinckney was a friend and two employees lost their lives in the shooting.
He also announced that the city was going to rename the St Andrews library, the Cynthia Hurd Regional Library. Hurd was a library employee for 31 years.
3.16pm ET
Wooten has released the names of all nine victims, these will be posted here as soon as we have correct spellings.
A full autopsy will be conducted on all victims, per procedure. No further details on memorial services and plans for future services.
3.10pm ET
Coroner Rae Wooten is now speaking:
3.08pm ET
The shooting of nine black church-goers in Charleston (not far from where Scott was killed) by a white gunman in what police are treating as a “hate crime” marks a doubling down on the nation’s twin pathologies of racism and guns, writes my colleague Gary Younge.
Racism isn’t dead. We know this because it keeps killing black people.
The fact that Clementa Pinckney, a state senator, was among the dead indicates that nobody is safe. The fact that it took place in a church during a prayer meeting indicates that nowhere is safe.
2.58pm ET
Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten will hold a 3pm news conference to identify the nine victims of last night’s shooting.
2.44pm ET
Richard Cohen, the president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization which tracks hate crimes in the US, has called the Charlestonchurch shooting an “obvious hate crime”:
A white man who admires apartheid walks into a black church and kills nine people. According to an eyewitness, he says that he has “to do it” because black people “rape our women” and are “taking over our country.” It’s an obvious hate crime by someone who feels threatened by our country’s changing demographics and the increasing prominence of African Americans in public life.
Since 2000, we’ve seen an increase in the number of hate groups in our country — groups that vilify others on the basis of characteristics such as race or ethnicity. Though the numbers have gone down somewhat in the last two years, they are still at historically high levels. The increase has been driven by a backlash to the country’s increasing racial diversity, an increase symbolized, for many, by the presence of an African American in the White House.”
2.32pm ET
The Charleston Post & Courier has identified two more victims, killed in Wednesday night’s shooting:
5. Ethel Lance, who was identified by her grandson as someone who had worked for 30 years at the church.
2.17pm ET
Charleston County Sheriffs have now repotedly cleared the bomb threat:
Bomb threat at 15 Morris Street is all clear.
2.16pm ET
People were reportedly evacuated form the church, and the area surrounding the church was cleared by police.
Police pushing people back away from the church. Only officers allowed in church now. #CHSnews pic.twitter.com/s3xsizB9g3
2.07pm ET
Authorities in Charleston are reportedly responding to a bomb threat at the Morris Brown church where a vigil for the victims of the shooting was being held:
#BREAKING: Authorities responding to bomb threat at Morris Brown AME Church. #CharlestonShooting Details soon on http://t.co/xXpValnPvM
And I've just been told by police that there's a bomb threat at the church. #CHSnews
1.58pm ET
My colleagues in London have drawn up an interactive, with a detailed view of everything we know so far about the shooting, namely: what we know about the suspect, who has died and some facts on the numbers of hate crimes in the US.
Related: What happened at the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting?
1.48pm ET
A view from inside the Morris Brown AME Church vigil:
The atmosphere is nearly jubilant as they hold hands and sing. pic.twitter.com/W2SREEgTKE
"We shall overcome" #CharlestonShooting @ABCNews4 pic.twitter.com/9xwWJ67WVN
1.36pm ET
Here’s an updated summary of what we know so far:
1.20pm ET
Dr Lady June Cole, the president of Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina. has issued a statement confirming that two of its alumni were killed in Wednesday night’s shooting:
1 . Tywanza Sanders, a 2014 graduate of the Division of Business Administration.
12.50pm ET
In a statement to reporters on Thursday, the president expressed both sadness and anger at the shootings which killed nine overnight. But he also said that the country needed to come to grips with its continuing record of gun violence:
“I’ve had to make statements like this too many times. Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times.
“We don’t have all the facts, but we do know that once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hand on a gun.”
12.29pm ET
Obama said the fact that the incident happened in a black church recalls a dark chapter of American history.
Mother Emmanuel Church has risen before to give hopes to generations of Charlestonians and will rise again, Obama said, as a place of peace.
12.25pm ET
At some point it’s going to be important for the American people to come to terms with this and to “shift how we think about the issue of gun violence” in this country, Obama said.
12.25pm ET
Obama said he doesn’t need to be constrained by the emotions that tragedies like this bring up.
He said he has made countless statements like this because of repeated mass shootings in the country.
12.23pm ET
The president said he knew several people in the church community, including Clementa Pinckney.
There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening in a place in which we seek solace, and peace, in a place of worship, Obama said.
This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America.
12.21pm ET
Barack Obama is now speaking about the Charleston shooting.
12.10pm ET
Barack Obama will be speaking about the tragedy shortly. You can watch his statement live below.
12.00pm ET
Mullen gave some details on the arrest, but would not elaborate further:
11.56am ET
Mullen said the suspect was stopped because a citizen alerted law enforcement to “suspicious activity” .
11.55am ET
The outpouring of emotion from this country has been overwhelming.
“We allow ourselves to grieve, we allow ourselves to pray, we allow ourselves to question and then we allow ourselves to heal.”
11.53am ET
Haley said, her voice breaking: “We woke up today and the heart and soul of South Carolina was broken.”
11.52am ET
Governor Nikki Haley is now speaking.
11.51am ET
“In America, we don’t let bad people like this get away with these dastardly deeds,” Riley said.
11.50am ET
Riley announced the creation of a Mother Emmanuel Hope Fund for those interested in donating to help the community in the wake of the shooting
11.49am ET
Riley said that both vice-president Joe Biden and president Barack Obama called him to offer support. Obama said that he would make all federal resources available for the investigation.
11.48am ET
Riley said that the “awful person”, that “terrible human being” who would go into a place of worship where people were praying and kill them, “is now in custody where he will always remain.”
The arrest of this man, he said, “[is] important for everyone wounded by this act, which of the church family members, community members and people of America.”
11.45am ET
Mayor Joe Riley is now speaking.
11.45am ET
Mullen has said the cooperation between all law enforcement divisions has been “unparalleled”. The investigation is ongoing he said. “The solicitor’s office and the Attorney General’s office has been in contact all day and last night, and they are prepared to partner with us in the prosecution stage.”
11.43am ET
Charleston police chief Greg Mullen has confirmed the arrest of the suspect at a press conference.
11.39am ET
US attorney general Loretta Lynch has confirmed that there is ‘a suspect’ in custody.
BREAKING: Attorney General Lynch: `I can confirm that there is a suspect in custody' in church shooting.
Subject arrested in #Charleston shooting. Our sincere thanks to the public and our law enforcement partners.
11.35am ET
The Morris Brown Church in Charleston is already filling up ahead of the noon prayer vigil:
Morris Brown AME filling up ahead of noon service. 11:30 presser live on http://t.co/J7FeZpnNo2 #chsnews pic.twitter.com/wbNA9jmSsh
Police are checking bags of people entering Morris Brown AME. #chs #CHSShooting pic.twitter.com/VorqJvyxOd
11.27am ET
Local media are reporting that the suspect has been arrested in Shelby, North Carolina, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Charleston PD said they will be holding a press conference in 10 minutes.
11.20am ET
Tributes to slain Democratic state senator Clementa Pinckney have been pouring in from his fellow state senators:
Just received a call from President Obama. He conveyed his condolences to Sen Pinckney's family, congregation, & the people of Charleston.
A memorial on my seat mate's State Senate desk, Clementa Pinckney. RIP my friend. #EmmanuelAME pic.twitter.com/mTyipyQfNL
Saddest Day ever in the SC Senate. Rest in Peace Senator. You were a role model to many and loved by all. We will miss you!
“We need to put today’s meeting in context with a tragedy that happened last night in Charleston, SC,” said Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler. “To many of us, that is a news item; to one of us, it is very personal. If it were not for this, meeting Commissioner Clyburn would be in Charleston today, mourning with her community.”
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, her voice breaking, thanked Wheeler and offered a tearful tribute to Pinckney, who, she said, “is part of the reason I’m sitting here before you today” because of his support in her early career.
“It is an emotional day for anybody who was born in Charleston”, she said. “Or anybody who has a heart. I met Clementa Pinckney when he was a representative, and I was running for the [Public Service Commission]. I needed 50% plus one. Those of you who know me know that I can have a little bit of an aggressive demeanor. I asked and he was a little bit coy, and I asked again, and I could tell I was irritating him quite a bit. But in the end, he voted for me.
11.16am ET
The White House has said that President Obama will make a statement on the South Carolina mass shooting around 11.45am.
11.15am ET
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch briefly addressed the Charleston shooting this morning:
“Acts like this one have no place in our country and no place in a civilized society,” Lynch said before extending her thoughts and prayers to families of victims.
11.03am ET
In an interview with Reuters, Roof’s uncle Carson Cowles said his “introverted” nephew was given a gun by his father as a 21st birthday present in April:
Cowles said he recognized Roof in a photo released by police, and described him as quiet and soft-spoken. Roof’s father gave him a .45-caliber pistol for his birthday this year, Cowles said.
“Nobody in my family had seen anything like this coming,” Cowles said. “I said, if it is him, and when they catch him, he’s got to pay for this.”
10.56am ET
A photograph from a Facebook profile page believed to belong to the suspect shows him wearing a jacket with two flags on the front: one is Rhodesia’s (now Zimbabwe) and the other is Apartheid-era South Africa’s.
(via my colleague Enjoli Liston)
10.55am ET
The suspect is not yet in custody, the Charleston PD have told the Guardian.
The Lexington County Solicitor’s office has also confirmed that Roof was arrested on 2 March for possession of a controlled substance.
10.24am ET
The suspect in the shooting has been identified as 21-year-old Dylann Roof of Columbia, South Carolina by Lexington PD and Berkeley County. The FBI has confirmed to Reuters that Roof is the suspect.
Reuters is also reporting that the suspect’s uncle recognized his nephew from the photo released. “The more I look at him, the more I’m convinced, that’s him,” said Carson Cowles, 56, in a phone interview.
Suspect in #Charleston shooting identified as 21 yr old Dylann Roof. If you know his whereabouts, call 1-800-CALL-FBI pic.twitter.com/EmFL5gLMCL
It is confirmed through open source reports that the subject Dylann Storm Roof is from Lexington County. Call... http://t.co/7QEstJ1lsk
10.00am ET
A DoJ spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian that a federal investigation is under way:
“The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the FBI, and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina are opening a hate crime investigation into the shooting that took place at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. The investigation is parallel to and cooperative with the state’s investigation.”
9.57am ET
Information about the alleged suspect is circulating on social media. We will not be publishing unconfirmed details on the suspect’s identity.
9.49am ET
Deanna Pan of the Charleston Post & Courier points out that with nine dead, this would be the deadliest mass shooting at a house of worship in the US since 1982 (per Mother Jones’ data on mass shootings).
In 2012, a shooting at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin killed seven people and injured three.
9.41am ET
South Carolina House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford on his longtime friend Clementa Pinckney who was killed during the shooting:
Senator Pinckney was my friend for over 20 years. I’m speechless, heartbroken and angry. God grant his family some peace right now.
9.34am ET
Rev Al Sharpton – who will reportedly be leading a prayer vigil for at noon in Charleston – has expressed “shock and outrage” at the killings, in a statement issued through his National Action Network (full text):
What has our society come to when people in a prayer meeting in the sacred halls of a church can be shot in what is deemed a possible hate crime?
The Pastor of the church, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, worked closely with our National Action Network Chapter leader and our Vice President of Religious Affairs, Rev. Nelson Rivers. It is chilling to me that just over two months ago while I was in North Charleston over the police shooting of Walter Scott, I’m reminded that Rev. Pinckney was among the clergy who stood with me at that occasion and now he has fallen victim to senseless violence.
9.21am ET
Hello. Here’s an updated summary of what we know so far:
Continue reading...