Charleston: Charleston police on Thursday arrested the shooter who opened fire at a historic African-American church leaving nine people dead in South Carolina.
The shooter was identified by the FBI as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, reports said citing the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper.
The Charleston Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had earlier released the picture of the suspect as seen in the security camera footage.
Help police find the suspect in the shooting @ 110 Calhoun St pic.twitter.com/92GW7fMCTA
— Charleston P.D. (@CharlestonPD) June 18, 2015
Active manhunt underway to locate #Charleston shooting subject. Please review photos & report tips to 1-800-CALL-FBI. pic.twitter.com/F60TxFs4NC
— FBI (@FBI) June 18, 2015
According to an AFP report, the camera footage near the church shows a lanky young white man donning a grey sweater and dark blond or brown hair in a distinctive bowl-type haircut.
Police described the suspect to be in his twenties and stands 5 foot, 9 inches tall.
The suspect was seen leaving the church in a black sedan, adds the report.
Police still searching for shooting suspect for incident at 110 Calhoun St
— Charleston P.D. (@CharlestonPD) June 18, 2015
Addressing a press conference, Charleston Police chief Gregory Mullen said in Wednesday`s shooting, eight people were killed inside the church, and another victim died at a trauma center shortly after. Several other people were wounded. Officials did not immediately release the names or any details of the victims.
"At this point, we have nine victims in this hideous crime that has been committed," Mullen told journalists.
Describing the incident as a `hate crime`, Mullen told reporters about four hours after the shooting on Wednesday evening: “It is unfathomable that somebody in today’s society would walk into a church when people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives."
Mullen added that a prayer meeting was going on at the church at the time of the shooting.
He also said that an all-clear had been sounded after an earlier bomb threat in the area of the church.
The shooting comes at a time of heightened racial tensions in America, after several high-profile killings of unarmed black men at the hands of white police in recent months led to riots and a national debate on race.
On microblogging website Twitter, the Charleston police said the suspect, who opened fire at around 0100 GMT, is a clean-shaven slender white male, about 21.
Suspect in shooting on Calhoun St is a w/m approx 21 slender small build wearing a grey sweat shirt blue jeans timberland boots clean shaven
— Charleston P.D. (@CharlestonPD) June 18, 2015
Anyone with information about shooting on Calhoun Street call dispatch at 743 7200
— Charleston P.D. (@CharlestonPD) June 18, 2015
As of 11:30 pm (0330 GMT), the suspect was still at large.
According to Charleston Police Department spokesman Charles Francis, the shooting occurred at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church at around 9 pm local time.
The shooting`s designation as a hate crime means federal authorities will help with the investigation and could assist in an eventual prosecution.
A police chaplain was present at the scene of the shooting, and a helicopter with a searchlight hovered overhead as officers combed through the area.
A group of several men stood in a circle in front of a hotel near the church. "We pray for the families, they`ve got a long road ahead of them," Reverend James Johnson, a local civil rights activist, said during the impromptu prayer service.
Police took a man with a backpack and a camera into custody, but later said they were still searching for a suspect in the shooting, television station WCIV reported.
Local broadcaster WCSC reported the FBI was on the scene. The FBI could not be reached immediately for comment.
Following the attack on the church, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, canceled an appearance in Charleston that had been scheduled for Thursday morning.
"Governor Bush's thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families affected by this tragedy," his campaign team said in a statement.
"This is the most unspeakable and heart-breaking tragedy," Mayor Joseph Riley said.
"People (were) in prayer on a Wednesday evening. A ritual coming together, praying and worshipping God. To have an awful person come in and shoot them is, is inexplicable."
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also tweeted her condolences.
"Heartbreaking news from Charleston - my thoughts and prayers are with you all," she wrote.
Charleston is known locally as "The Holy City," due to its large number of churches and historical mix of immigrant ethnic groups that brought a variety of creeds to the city on the Atlantic coast.
The website for the church said it has one of the largest and oldest black congregations in the region. It was built in 1891 and is considered a historically significant building, according to the National Park Service.
The church is led by the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who also serves in the state senate, according to the church`s website.
The incident once again brings to the fore the racial tensions that persist in many communities in America, more than five decades after the Civil Rights Act was enacted to outlaw racial and other forms of discrimination.
High-profile police killings of unarmed black men have prompted riots, as well as much soul-searching and national debate in recent months as America grapples with its troubled racial past.
Charleston is a popular tourist destination known for its cobblestone streets, Southern cuisine and nearby beaches and islands. The city is also known outside the United States for its namesake 1920s dance.
(With Agency inputs)
