Charleston church shooting suspect charged with nine murders

The young white man suspected of gunning down nine people at a black church in South Carolina has been charged with their murders, police said on Friday, as the state's governor called for him to face the death penalty.

The carnage at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston was the worst attack on a US place of worship in decades, and comes at a time of revived racial tensions in many parts of the country. Reports that 21-year-old Dylann Roof -- who has been charged with nine murders as well as possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime -- said he "wanted to start a race war" are sure to leave the city on edge.

The killings have also reignited concerns about gun control, with a clearly frustrated President Barack Obama saying the "senseless murders" should force Americans to look closely at how violent people get easy access to firearms. Roof was to appear at a bond hearing at 2:00 pm (1800 GMT), Charleston police said on Twitter, also announcing the charges. Several US media outlets have reported that Roof confessed to investigators that he walked into "Mother Emanuel" -- one of the oldest black churches in the country -- on Wednesday night and opened fire on a Bible study class.

All of the victims were black. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said on Friday she believed Roof should face the death penalty -- legal in the state -- if convicted. "This is an absolute hate crime," Haley told NBC's "Today" show. "We will absolutely will want him to have the death penalty. This is the worst hate that I've seen and the country has seen in a long time."

Roof was arrested in North Carolina and brought back to South Carolina after he opted not to fight extradition. Several US media outlets have reported that Roof has already confessed to investigators.
One law enforcement official told CNN that he told police he "wanted to start a race war." "We are getting cooperation at this point," another official told local ABC affiliate WCIV.

Two sources also confirmed to NBC News that Roof -- whose Facebook page includes a picture of him wearing the flags of defunct white supremacist regimes in South Africa and Rhodesia -- has confessed. He told police that he "almost didn't go through with it because everyone was so nice to him," the sources told the network, but ultimately, he decided to "go through with his mission."