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Charleston church shooting: Suspected gunman arrested Charleston church shooting: Suspected gunman arrested
(34 minutes later)
The 21-year-old suspect in the killing of nine people at a historic African-American church in South Carolina has been arrested, US media say. The suspected gunman in the killing of nine people at a historic African-American church in South Carolina has been arrested, Attorney General Loretta Lynch says.
Dylann Storm was reportedly detained in Selby, North Carolina, some 13 hours after the shooting in Charleston. Officials earlier named 21-year-old Dylann Roof as the man they were looking for after the shooting in Charleston.
Police said the gunman sat in a bible study meeting for up to an hour before opening fire, killing six women and three men including the church pastor. The gunman sat in a bible study meeting for up to an hour before firing.
The federal authorities have launched a hate crimes investigation. Six women and three men including the church pastor were killed.
Officials have called it a hate crime.
The justice department earlier said it would open a federal hate crimes investigation.
Ms Lynch said the Justice Department would look at all the facts and motivations to determine the best way to proceed with any prosecution.
Police said the suspect was arrested at a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina.
The arrest came just a few hours after the release of surveillance images of what police described as a young white man arriving at the church an hour before shooting occurred on Wednesday evening.
The killings have sent shockwaves through a community that has already experienced heightened racial tension in recent months.
The shooting two months ago of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man by a white police officer in North Charleston, prompted angry protests. The officer has since been charged with murder.
At the scene: The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan
The streets close to the church are deserted, save for a few uniformed police officers. A trickle of people arrive to lay flowers for the victims.
"Peace for the church, the family and their loved ones," reads one handwritten note, tucked into a bouquet of bright flowers. A short drive away mourners have arrived for a vigil in memory of the deceased.
Rev Vanessa Johnson is from a nearby church but knew one of the reported victims, the Reverend Clementa Pinckney.
"All of us are in shock,. We are at a loss for words," she says. Rev Johnson says the Emmanuel church holds a special place in this city's hearts, making the events of Wednesday night so difficult to digest.
The weekly bible study meeting was under way in the Emanuel AME Church on Calhoun Street when the gunman opened fire at about 21:00 local time (01:00 GMT Thursday).
Charleston police chief Gregory Mullen said that when police arrived at the scene eight people were already dead in the church and that one other person died later in hospital. There were three survivors, he added.
Among the dead was the 42-year-old pastor of the church Clementa Pinckney, a father of two who was also a Democratic state Senator in South Carolina.
He had recently sponsored a bill to make body cameras mandatory for all police officers in South Carolina in response to the death of Walter Scott.
The Emanuel AME Church
Charleston church's important role
Profile: Pastor Clementa Pinckney