COLUMBIA, S.C. (CNN) – Dylann Roof, the man who killed nine people in a Charleston church last month, should not have been able to buy a gun, the FBI has now determined, contradicting earlier assertions that the background check was done properly, a law enforcement official tells CNN and FBI’s director told reporters in Washington.
FBI Director James Comey said the FBI made a clerical error due in part between a breakdown in paperwork between police departments and counties. Comey told reporters Friday “this rips all of our hearts out” and “we are all sick this happened.”
30 states, including South Carolina, give FBI responsibility for reviewing requests for firearms. These reviews are conducted out of West Virginia.
