At a morning press conference, Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen briefed reporters on the massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, which left nine people dead. Mullen added, in reference to the suspected gunman, “We will catch this individual.”
As of now, it appears the alleged shooter has, in fact, been caught.
Police have captured the suspected gunman who fatally shot nine church members gathered for Bible study and prayer Wednesday night, according to law enforcement officials and lawmakers.
NBC News has confirmed that the apparent shooter, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, was apprehended this morning. He was taken into custody in Shelby, North Carolina, nearly 250 miles from the scene of the deadly shooting.
At the federal level, the Justice Department has already opened a hate-crime investigation and President Obama is expected to make public remarks about the murders in a few minutes.
Update: As for how the suspect was apprehended, a local report tells quite a tale.
Thursday started out like any other day for Debbie Dills, except she was a “little late” coming into work at Frady’s Florist in Kings Mountain.However, that “little late” led to an act of pure heroism.
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Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."