Don’t expect the “He was a good boy and turning his life around” defense.
Via WISTV
The father and uncle of the 21-year-old man accused of shooting nine people at a historic downtown Charleston church notified police and positively identified him as the person shown in surveillance photographs, according to court affidavits released Friday.
Dylann Roof remains locked up at the Al Cannon Detention Center following his extradition from North Carolina and a bond hearing Friday afternoon, charged with nine counts of murder and one count of possession of a deadly weapon in the commission of a violent crime.
Court documents allege Roof entered the Emanuel AME Church at 110 Calhoun St. at approximately 8:06 p.m. where he met with parishioners who were conducting a bible study. After approximately an hour of studying, Roof stood up, pulled out a handgun and began shooting at the parishioners inside the hall, striking nine people, an affidavit states.
Investigators say prior to leaving the bible study room, Roof stood over a witness and uttered “a racially inflammatory statement to the witness.”
Video surveillance from the church captured a dark Hyundai Elantra pulling into a parking place at the church lot around 8:06 p.m. and showed a man matching Roof’s description climbed out and walked inside the church; the same video shows the same person, approximately an hour later, emerging from the church, looking both ways, exiting the building carrying a handgun, then getting into the same vehicle and fleeing the scene, the affidavit states.
Roof’s father and uncle contacted Charleston investigators and positively identified Roof and his vehicle after recognizing them in surveillance photos, according to court documents. Roof’s father also told investigators his son owned a .45 caliber handgun, the affidavit states.
Police say .45 caliber fired casings were recovered from the crime scene. Court documents also state DMV records show Roof as being the registered owner of a black 2000 Hyundai Elantra.
Charleston County Sheriff’s Office officials said Roof is being held in protective custody, isolated in a cell next to former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager, who faces a murder charge in the April 4 shooting of Walter Scott.
Attorneys say Roof waived extradition in a Cleveland County courtroom in North Carolina early Thursday afternoon. Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said Roof was taken into custody just after 11 a.m. following a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina.