Charleston church shooting suspect charged

Dylann Roof ordered to remain in custody on nine murder charges following an emotional bond hearing.

 

Charleston church shooting suspect Dylann Roof was ordered to remain in custody on nine murder charges on Friday, at an emotional bond hearing during which relatives of the victims expressed their grief.
Roof's attorney, public defender Ashley Pennington, said his 21-year-old client was prepared to "accept the no bond arrangement." Judge James Gosnell set the next court hearing in the case for October 23.

Notes from the field: Al Jazeera's Andy Gallacher in Charleston

The couple who embraced outside the Emanuel AME church in Charleston did not know each other, they simply felt a deep loss and needed to reach out to someone close by. It was not an unusual sight for a city that is going through such emotional turmoil except for one thing. One mourner was white, the other African-American. That has been the spirit here ever since the horrific events of Wednesday night when nine black church goers were gunned down in what is being investigated as a hate crime.  This is a community and a city that is coming together with no regard of racial background but never the less the issue of race is one that cannot be ignored. Confederate flags, long considered a symbol of racial oppression, fly proudly throughout America's deep south and for many that represents much deeper problems. As for its own history, the 'Emanuel Mother' church, as it is affectionately known here, stands as a symbol of black freedom. Established by slaves fighting for their liberty it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1886 only to rise from the rubble and continue to serve at the heart of this community. Long after the camera crews have left it will carry on in that role, now perhaps more than ever, but it will also be remembered for something sinister and inherently evil.

Bond was set at $1m on a weapons charge, but Roof will nevertheless remain in custody because no bond was set on the murder charges.
Relatives of the nine victims were invited to speak at Friday's hearing. Several broke down in tears as they spoke of their loss, but also said they forgave Roof.
"Every fiber in my body hurts, and I'll never be the same. Tywanza Sanders was my son. But he was my hero," said Felicia Sanders.
Early on Friday, Roof was charged with nine counts of murder and one count of possession of a firearm.
The charges came hours after he confessed to carrying out the attack.
US officials are investigating the attack, in which four ministers were killed including a Democratic state senator, as a hate crime.
It comes in a year of turmoil in the United States, where police killings of several unarmed black men has provoked angry national debates about race relations, policing and the criminal justice system.
Roof had intended to set off new racial confrontations with his attack, CNN reported, citing a law enforcement source. The report could not be immediately confirmed.
Calling for death penatly
Meanwhile, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley told NBC's "Today" show on Friday that she would prefer to see Roof tried on state charges and that she believed state prosecutors should pursue a death sentence.
"We will absolutely want him to have the death penalty," she told NBC.
Dylann Roof had complained that "blacks were taking over the world," an acquaintance of the 21-year-old said.
Joey Meek, a former friend who reconnected with Roof a few weeks ago, said that while they got drunk on vodka, Roof declared that "someone needed to do something about it for the white race."
President Barack Obama has called the tragedy yet another example of damage caused by guns in America.
Charleston officials announced a prayer vigil for Friday evening. The city's mayor described the shooting at the church as an act of "pure, pure concentrated evil."