9 dead in U.S. church massacre

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Police have now confirmed the white man suspected of killing nine people inside a historic black South Carolina church has been captured.

Dylann Roof, 21, was arrested this morning during a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina, about three hours from where the shooting occurred. He was armed.

Roff is accused of opening fire on a bible study meeting last night. According to police, Roff spent more than an hour attending the meeting before he began shooting.

Officials believe it was a targeted attack.

Eight people were killed at the scene; another victim later died at a nearby hospital. One of the survivors, a woman, said the killer told her she was spared so “she could tell them what happened”.

U.S. President Barack Obama called the victims’ deaths “senseless murders.” “Any death of this sort is a tragedy. Any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy. There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening at a place in which we seek solace, we seek peace, a place of worship.”

Roff’s uncle described his nephew as quiet and soft-spoken and said his father had given him a .45 calibre pistol for his birthday earlier this year.