Charleston white suspect charged with nine counts of murder
The young white gunman who shot nine black people dead in the US state of South Carolina has been charged with nine counts of homicide and illegal possession of a firearm.
During his first court appearance on Friday, Dylann Storm Roof confessed to the crime, two law enforcement officials told CNN.
The 21-year-old suspect was arrested in North Carolina on Thursday.
Roof killed the black people during a prayer ceremony at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston on Wednesday night.
Roof's roommate, Dalton Tyler, said that Roof was planning to start a “civil war.”
“He was big into segregation and other stuff,” Tyler told ABC News. “He said he wanted to start a civil war. He said he was going to do something like that and then kill himself.”
South Carolina State Senator Clementa Pinckney was also among the dead.
The other victims were Myra Thompson, 59, Tywanza Sanders, 26, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45, DePayne Middleton, 49, Cynthia Hurd, 54, Ethel Lance, 70, Susie Jackson, 87, and Reverend Daniel Simmons, 74.
Family members of the victims confronted the suspect in Friday’s bond hearing.
“Every fiber in my body hurts, and I’ll never be the same,” Tywanza Sanders' mother said.
“Tywanza Sanders was my son, but Tywanza was my hero,” she said. “May god have mercy on you.”
The hearing concluded with bail initially set at $1 million for possession of a firearm.
The Justice Department announced that the white suspect is facing a federal investigation that could classify the crime as a hate crime or an act of terror.
Next court appearances are scheduled for October 23 and February 5.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said that she wants the state to seek the death penalty against Roof.
"These are nine families that are struggling. This is a state that is hurt by the fact that nine people... were killed. We will absolutely want him to have the death penalty," she said.
"This is the worst hate that I’ve seen and the country has seen in a long time. We will fight this and we will fight this as hard as we can."
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