Charleston Suspect Was in Contact With Supremacists

Local Editor

Federal and local authorities found that the man charged in the shooting deaths of nine black people in a South Carolina church last month had been in contact with white supremacists online, according to law-enforcement officials.

Investigators uncovered that information as they pieced together where the gunman, Dylann Roof, 21, received his inspiration, and whether anyone else should face charges in connection with the killings.

"To understand what happened, you have to understand who he talked to and who may have known what," said one law-enforcement official briefed on the case. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing a continuing investigation.

So far, the authorities had determined that people around Roof were aware that he held some racist beliefs.

The authorities also looked over a manifesto and photographs posted online of him at Confederate heritage sites and slavery museums. The FBI concluded that they were probably posted by Roof.

Accordingly, the FBI had dedicated significant resources to the inquiry and has worked closely with the local authorities.

The Justice Department is likely to file federal hate-crime charges against Roof, who faces nine counts of murder in state court.

Senior officials at the Justice Department said the shooting was such an extraordinary event that the department must bring hate-crime charges to send a larger message about it.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team