‘Charleston racist massacre suspect identified’

Dylann Storm Roof

A remarkable detail on this photo of Dylann Storm Roof, suspect in the racist mass murder in Charleston, USA, is the flag patches on his clothes. The upper orange-white-blue patch shows the old flag of South Africa, when the apartheid regime ruled there. The other, green and white flag patch below it, shows the flag of the white supremacist regime of Rhodesia, 1968-1979.

A detail pointing in a direction of racist motives.

Roof’s father, it is said, on his son’s 21st birthday gave Dylann a gun as a present.

By Hilary Hanson in the USA:

Dylann Storm Roof Identified As Charleston Shooting Suspect: Report

06/18/2015 10:15 am EDT Updated: 1 minute ago

The man suspected of opening fire in a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night, killing nine people, has been identified as 21-year-old Dylann Storm Roof, an FBI spokeswoman told The Post and Courier.

Denise Taiste, the FBI spokeswoman, confirmed Roof’s identity to the paper Thursday morning and described him as a resident of the Columbia area. He remains at large.

Law enforcement described Roof as 5 foot 9, with a slender build and sandy blond hair shaped into a bowl cut. He was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, jeans and Timberland boots and was driving a black sedan.

Roof’s uncle, 56-year-old Carson Cowles, told Reuters he recognized his nephew in the surveillance photos released by police.

“The more I look at him, the more I’m convinced, that’s him,” Cowles said. He added that law enforcement officers visited the home of Roof’s mother on Thursday morning.

Roof is suspected of opening fire in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Bible study meeting at around 9 p.m. Wednesday. Eight people were killed at the scene, while a ninth person later died in the hospital.

Witnesses said the gunman spent about a hour inside the church with victims before the shooting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Who Is Dylann Storm Roof? Charleston Shooting Suspect Identified, Recently Faced Drug Charges: here.

Charleston Church Shooter Dylann Roof Captured In Shelby, North Carolina: Reports: here.

15 thoughts on “‘Charleston racist massacre suspect identified’”

Pingback: Racist Charleston church massacre, reactions | Dear Kitty. Some blog

What a sorry state of affairs. This ‘effin idiot. He needs to be put in a bag with rocks and thrown into the water. Sorry. I do want peace and love but when I see this kind of hate. I lose it. The manufacture of guns and ammo must stop. No one should have firearms or gun power type weapons including Governments and other agencies.

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petrel41 on June 19, 2015 at 5:57 pm said:

The perpetrator of this horrible mass murder is indeed very stupid and criminal, However, he is not in a vacuum, but in a context.

A context including Confederate flags officially on South Carolina government buildings; the Ku Klux Klan; the CCC (Conservative Citizens Council, meaning the KKK when then are not wearing white sheets but three piece suits); the National Rifle Association; Fox News again and again describing African American victims of police violence as ‘thugs’ supposedly ‘getting what they deserve’. And war, endless war. And growing inequality.

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- henrywest on June 19, 2015 at 7:57 pm said:
  
  So true.
  
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- henrywest on June 21, 2015 at 7:43 pm said:
  
  Sadly we cannot overcome our lack of empathy for others. knee jerk reactions such as mine are only a moment to try to understand the gravity of the situation. Once stated I feel a need to understand and a frustration for the statement. More violence will not solve the problem only the hard work of compassion and understanding could lead us to a solution. As a species we have to have a dialog of tolerance. However we seem to live in cynicism and fear. Empathy is just not sexy enough. Our governments and citizens operate with a siege mentality. Many don’t realize there are more options they only know to respond with fire. Sparsity leads to hording. Causing greater inequality and protection of what’s mine. There is only one outcome with that mentality and we see it everyday. We must change or we’ll never progress.
  
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