America
Church shooting suspect sought a race war
By
Arun KumarWashington, June 19
The white young man who
shot and killed nine people he'd sat with for Bible study at a historic
black church in South Carolina's Charleston on Friday told authorities
he wanted to start a race war.
Dylann Roof, who faces a court
hearing later Friday, spoke of his motive as he confessed to Wednesday
night's horrific mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal
Church in Charleston South Carolina, CNN reported citing law enforcement
officials.
Roof, 21, has been charged with nine counts of murder
in connection with the attack. He was also charged with one count of
possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
He
is unlikely to appear in person in court, as most initial hearings
there are conducted over a video link with the county jail.
Roof,
according to police, opened fire on worshipers after sitting with them
for at least an hour. The victims included the pastor, Clementa
Pinckney, 41, who was also a state senator.
Roof allegedly told
police he "almost didn't go through with (the shooting) because everyone
was so nice to him," NBC News reported citing sources.
Meanwhile,
the State's Indian American governor Nikki Haley, told NBC on Friday
that "we absolutely will want him to have the death penalty" for his
crime.
Haley also told CBS News that the community is beginning
to recover. "I think there was shock, and then I think there was anger,
and then I think there was grief," she said.
"But the one thing
that we know is as soon as the suspect was found and they had him back
in custody, the best part about it is now we can start to heal," Haley
added.
She said some victims' family members have begun speaking
to police and everyone is searching for more information and asking
"Why?"
"The survivors and everybody, we're trying to get as much
information as we can so investigators are still talking to them trying
to find out some information, how they're doing," Haley said.
"But there are some family members of some of the victims that are starting to come out and start talking."
The
mass shooting following a series of racially-charged cases involving
police violence has led to renewed calls for honest conversations about
race issues in the US. Haley said that conversation has already begun in
her state.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])