A still from a security cam that shows the suspect. Reuters.
A manhunt has begun for the shooter that killed 9 people in a church prayer meeting last night. Reuters. The FBI has released the name of the suspect, a 21 year old named Dylann Roof. Though no motive has been determined at this time, many people suspect that the murders were racially motivated as the suspect is white and the victims were all black. Among the dead was a South Carolina state senator named Clementa Pinckney, who was also the pastor. The other victims were two men and six women, all shot. The church, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal, is a historic church that has existed since the 19th century.
My Comment:
Reuters has a live feed up here.
This is a developing story. As I was writing it, Reuters posted the name of the suspect. I hope they have the right guy because I can't imagine being wrongfully accused of such a terrible crime. Last night Twitter did what Twitter did best and made it look like some innocent photographer, who had been briefly detained by the police, was the suspect. To be fair he did match the description, but the way the police handled him made it clear that he wasn't the guy. After all, cops don't generally arrest people accused of multiple homicide but still let them wear their backpack, especially if they also have bomb threats.
As a matter of fact, Twitter handled the situation poorly to say the least. Before anyone knew anything about the attack they were already blaming it on racism or terrorism or whatever "ism" they could think off. At this time it does seem that this was a racially motivated attack, but even with reports that is the case, I'd still advise caution. Preliminary reports are just that, and we should always wait until more info comes out. A degree of outrage is certainly justified in this case, but it is very important to make sure that they have the right person under the right circumstances.
But it seems likely that this was a murder based on race. That isn't surprising at all. Race relations are in the toilet in America. It's been that way for a long time, ever since Obama got elected. And the media has poured gasoline on that fire by giving 24/7/365 coverage of every police shooting or violent act against black people, regardless of the truth of the situation, to make it look like there was a war between blacks and whites. Well this is what happens if you make it look like a race war is happening. When you make it a war, pretty soon a guy like this is going to come out of the woodwork because he wants to win. You don't win a war through reconciliation and understanding. You win a war by killing. And that's exactly what he did.
If this was a race based killing, the suspect picked a terrible place to kill. You would think that a racist person that hates black people would target young black men, not a bunch of older men and women. And targeting a church? I think even the majority of very racist people would have a huge problem with that, let alone everyone else. My guess is that he was angry with the stereotypical "hood" black men, but was too afraid to confront them so instead decided to attack people that were least like the stereotype.
A lot of people are calling this terrorism. The FBI is calling it a hate crime. And people are getting upset about the terminology. I think the whole argument is stupid because either way 9 people are dead. I guess racism is a political position, and terrorism is killing for a political cause, but really, does the distinction matters? If this guy is caught, he's getting the death penalty. There isn't a jury in the world that would let this guy off, if and when he is caught.
The media is already chomping at the bit to make this the next 24/7/365 news cycle. I dread that more then anything else this guy could do. All the coverage is going to do is piss people off and that could lead to retaliation attacks. When you are in a hole that you can't get out of, like we are with race relations in this country, stop digging! But alas, there is money to be made and outrage to fuel. Can't have an honest conversation about race in this country, oh no. Just a false picture designed to make everyone as mad as possible while completely ignoring reality. Crime is down pretty much everywhere and these kinds of racial attacks are almost unheard of. But you would never know it if you turned on the news...
And I am sure that there will be those calling for more gun laws. To that I say this. Back in 2012, an off duty cop with a concealed firearm stopped a shooting at a church. Had any of the victims in this attack been armed there is a decent chance that they could have shot the suspect before he killed 9 people. He may have still killed one or two, but chances are that he would have died. Indeed, I am betting a major reason he chose to attack a church is because he knew that there wouldn't be anyone there with a gun to stop him.
Finally, I really hope that they don't take this guy alive. Just once I would like to see a police shooting that the black community would support. I'm not saying they should murder him but if he tries to fight, I have no problem with the police putting this guy down. It would be even better if a private citizen shoots him (with justification).
UPDATE: Reuters is reporting that the suspect was captured in Shelby North Carolina.
UPDATE: Reuters is reporting that the suspect was captured in Shelby North Carolina.
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