A Church Attack that Inspired National Discussion

When Dylann Roof entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina during a prayer service and shot twelve people, killing none of them, it ignited a mainstream and social media frenzy, the likes of which haven’t been seen in the last half-century, against anything and everything related to the Confederate states in the Civil War. Why? Because Dylann Roof was an avowed white supremacist and he’d specifically attacked a historical church known as a community organization site for civil rights. Additionally, it was seen as somewhat of a “hero’s location” where anti-slavery efforts were concerned. Quite a few people who resisted, fought against and/or assisted those escaping from slavery were headquartered (for lack of a better term) at the church.

On the evening of June 17^th, 2015, at just after nine p.m., the Charleston Police Department began receiving calls about the shooting. Reportedly, Roof went into the church after the prayer service / Bible study program had been going on for about an hour. Upon initial entry he didn’t immediately start shooting but actually sat down and listened to what was going on, eventually getting involved in the discussions to voice his disagreement on how some interpreted the scriptures.

Roof’s reported statements, immediately prior to starting the shooting, after he had shot nine people, killing eight on the scene and before leaving the church were racially hateful. Roof also reportedly tried to commit suicide before leaving the church only to find out he had run out of ammunition. He was later identified by relatives based on security photos of him shown on various news stations.

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The remainder of this article is part of the book "Active Killers and the Crimes They Perpetrated," available in print or ebook via Amazon.