Story highlights
Dylann Roof, 21, waives extradition to South Carolina; he was arrested Thursday in Shelby, North Carolina
"There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people," says president of the NAACP
Eight people died at the scene in downtown Charleston, South Carolina; a ninth died at a hospital
(CNN) —
Before he allegedly opened fire on members of a Bible study group at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, Dylann Roof sat with them. He might have prayed with them.
A Snapchat video from Wednesday night at the historic African-American church shows Roof at a table with the small group. Nothing in the footage suggests the carnage to come.
Police say Roof shot and killed nine people inside the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, near the heart of Charleston’s tourist district. Eight died at the scene; a ninth died at a hospital.
Authorities were shocked not only by the killings but that the violence occurred in a house of worship.
“People in prayer Wednesday evening. A ritual, a coming together, praying, worshiping God. An awful person to come in and shoot them is inexplicable,” said Charleston Mayor Joe Riley.
Six women and three men were killed, including the church’s politically active pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney.
Sylvia Johnson, a cousin of Pinckney, said she heard about what happened inside the church from a survivor, a close friend.
RANDALL HILL/REUTERS/LANDOV/file
The Rev. Clementa Pinckney speaks at the church in Charleston in December 2012.
Johnson told CNN her friend recounted the man coming into the church, asking for the minister.
“My cousin, being the nice, kind, welcoming person he is, he welcomed him to his congregation, welcomed him to the Bible study, and he sat there for an hour … At the conclusion of the Bible study, they just heard just a ringing of a loud noise, and it was just awful from what I heard,” Johnson said.
When the son of her friend pleaded with the shooter to stop, Johnson said the gunman replied: “‘No, you’ve raped our women, and you are taking over the country … I have to do what I have to do.’ And he shot the young man.”
Her friend pretended she was dead.
“But she watched her son fall and laid there. She laid there in his blood,” Johnson said.
From what she heard, the gunman reloaded five times.
Before he left the church, he asked one of the elderly members whether he had shot her, and she said no.
“And he said good, because we need a survivor because I’m going to kill myself,” Johnson told CNN.
A law enforcement official said witnesses told authorities the gunman stood up and said he was there “to shoot black people.”
The president of the NAACP expressed his outrage at the violence.
“There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture,” Cornell William Brooks said.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images
Thousands of people march on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, June 21. People crossed the bridge, which spans the Cooper River, from Mount Pleasant to Charleston, joining hands in a unity chain to mourn the Emanuel AME Church shooting. Police arrested Dylann Storm Roof in the slayings of nine people at a prayer meeting at the church.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Rainier Ehrhardt/AP
Protesters stand on the South Carolina State House steps during a rally to take down the Confederate flag, on Saturday, June 20, in Columbia.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Stephen B. Morton/AP
Louise Brown walks down King Street during a "Black Lives Matter" march on June 20 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Stephen B. Morton/AP
The men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity lead a prayer outside Emanuel AME Church, Friday, June 19.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images
Young people grieve outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 19.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
David Goldman/AP
Parishioners applaud during a memorial service on Thursday, June 18, at Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
David Goldman/AP
Olina Ortega, left, and Austin Gibbs light candles at a sidewalk memorial in front of Emanuel AME Church on June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Grace Beahm/The Post And Courier/AP
The Rev. Jeannie Smalls becomes emotional during a prayer vigil held at Morris Brown AME Church on June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Kevin Liles/UPI/LANDOV
A woman places flowers outside the church on June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Mourners gather for a community prayer service at Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston on June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
David Goldman/AP
Walter Jackson, the son of Susie Jackson who died in the church shooting, recalls stories about his mother with his niece Cynthia Taylor at Jackson's home in Charleston on June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Allen G. Breed/AP
The Rev. Al Sharpton wipes away a tear after praying outside the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston on June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
People sit on the steps of Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston while services are held June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Stephen B. Morton/AP
A woman wipes her eyes at a makeshift memorial near the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston on June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Tim Kimzey/The Spartanburg Herald-Journal/AP
The Rev. Keith McDaniel, pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, is surrounded by others in prayer on June 18 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Stephen B. Morton/AP
Tyler Francis, right, hugs Shondrey Dear after praying together June 18 at a makeshift memorial near the Emanuel AME Church.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Stephen B. Morton/AP
A group of women prays together at a makeshift memorial on the sidewalk in front of the Emanuel AME Church on June 18.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Susan Walsh/AP
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, pauses while speaking in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, June 18, on the church shooting in Charleston.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
Members of the U.S. Congress gather in front of the Capitol Building in Washington on June 18, during a moment of silence for the nine killed in a church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
Rainier Ehrhardt/AP
South Carolina state Sen. Vincent Sheheen gets emotional on June 18 as he sits next to the draped desk of Sen. Clementa Pinckney at the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of the nine people killed in the church shooting.
Photos: Reactions to Charleston church shooting
PHOTO:
David Goldman/AP
Charleston resident Noah Nicolaisen kneels at a makeshift memorial down the street from the church on June 18.