Sometimes I wake up at 3:30 a.m. and can’t go back to sleep. This usually occurs when I fall asleep too early; before 9:30 p.m. the night before. I turned on Fox News (before killer was publicly identified) and it was then that I first heard about the horrific church shooting in Charleston, North Carolina.
Excerpt from Fox website:
South Carolina police are hunting Dylann Roof in the deadly shooting Wednesday night at a Charleston church that left nine people dead, authorities announced as they identified the 21-year-old as the gunman.
Police immediately branded the shooting spree, which began just after 9 p.m. Wednesday, a hate crime, and released surveillance images of a white man fleeing the scene at 180-year-old Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church after the horrific incident, which left six women and three men dead.
The Last Refuge blog has two posts up that give a lot of information. Of course, people are also speculating about the reason(s) why this murderer did what he did. I sincerely hope and pray that he will be caught right away, put in jail where he belongs and ultimately brought to justice in whatever manner the jury decides.
The Last Refuge: Charleston Mother Emanuel AME Church Shooting – Discussion Thread…
One of the last comments in the thread (as of 6/18/15 at 7:58 a.m. PT) identifies the shooter as Dylan Roof, and is quite chilling regarding the possible motive of the shootings.
Donald Joy says:
June 18, 2015 at 10:39 am
Someone on Twitter posted that those are flags of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and apartheid-era South Africa on his jacket. Both countries in Africa where a white European minority once dominated and ran things productively, now whites there are massacred non-stop and their property taken.
This kid knew exactly what he wanted to do and why.
A more recent post at The Last Refuge shares additional photos and commentary, with commenters sharing additional links.
Another pastor from Charleston N.C. was interviewed (in the early morning broadcast) regarding the shooting. IMHO, it was unfortunate that he believes that gun control is the answer to mass shootings like this one. If someone in the congregation had a concealed carry permit and gun with him (or her), the perpetrator could have been shot and killed on the spot – possibly saving some of the 9 lives that were so tragically lost. Is it just a coincidence that most mass shootings occur in gun-free zones?
Prayers going up to God for the loved ones of all the victims. Additional prayers going up to God for the sake of that historic church and town, and that any demonstrations would be peaceful and prayerful. Haven’t we all had enough of the riots, looting, and additional mayhem brought about by individuals and groups that want to exploit tragedies like this for their own personal or political benefit?
Enough!!!
Hat tips to all links.
Update: According to this twitter posting over at The Last Refuge blog, The Clarion Ledger is reporting the Dylann Roof has been arrested.
BREAKING: WLTX in South Carolina reporting that Dylann Roof, the alleged church shooter, has been arrested.
The Clarion Ledger Face Book announcement on capture:
Talk Wisdom 