Charleston shooting suspect waives extradition

CHARLESTON, SC (WBTW) – The man accused of gunning down nine victims in a historic Charleston church Wednesday night has waived extradition after being arrested in Shelby, North Carolina Thursday afternoon.

According to Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen, around 11 a.m. police captured Dylann Storm Roof, the suspect in the mass shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Roof’s arrest was the result of a Shelby citizen calling police after noticing a suspicious vehicle, according to Chief Mullen. An officer pulled Roof over a short time later, and he was taken into custody without incident. Mullen says Roof has been “cooperative” to this point. A gun was found in the vehicle Roof was in, adds Mullen.

Roof went before a judge in magistrate’s court in Shelby, NC Thursday afternoon just after 4 p.m. and waived extradition. Police are now tasked with bringing the accused killer back to South Carolina for prosecution. The travel time from Shelby, NC to Charleston, SC is approximately 4 hours.

Witnesses say Roof spent nearly an hour in the prayer meeting before standing and shouting he was there “to shoot black people,” CNN reports.

Nine lives were taken during the massacre, including Senator Clementa Pinckney and St. Andrews Regional Library Manager Cynthia Hurd. Charleston County Public Library confirmed in a statement on its website that Hurd fell victim to Roof’s shooting spree.

A third victim, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, was identified in a statement made by Charleston Southern University President Jairy C. Hunter Jr. as the mother of rising sophomore Chris Singleton. Singleton is a member of the CSU baseball team. Names of other victims have not yet been released by authorities.

Tywanza Sanders, a fourth victim of the Charleston Shooting, was a 2014 graduate of Allen University, according to a statement released by the school. The University adds, “He was a quiet, well known student who was committed to his education.”

A fifth victim of the Charleston shooting has been identified by St. James AME in Cleveland, Ohio, as 98-year-old Susie Jackson. Mrs. Jackson’s son is a member of St. James.  

President Obama spoke briefly Thursday about the Charleston church shooting, noting that the church is a place of refuge and violence in such a place is especially devastating.

“There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening in a place in which we seek solace,” states President Obama. “At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.” Roof’s arrest came just hours after law enforcement officials released the identity of the suspect in the shooting deaths. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, of Columbia has two previous arrests, as reported by WLTX. Roof was arrested in Lexington County on February 28 on a controlled substance charge and a trespassing charge was issued on April 26.

According to Roof’s facebook page, he went to White Knoll High School.