Dylann Roof, the confessed gunman who killed nine parishioners during a Bible study at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, has been indicted by a grand jury.
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Roof, 21, was previously charged with nine counts of murder and a gun charge for the shooting rampage. In addition to those charges, the grand jury also indicted Roof on three counts of attempted murder related to the victims who survived the shooting, according to South Carolina’s Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
The pastor of the church, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, was among the victims of the shooting massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. President Obama delivered the eulogy at Pinckney's funeral late last month.
“We have been in constant contact with the Charleston Police Department, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Department of Justice,” Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said in a statement released Monday, adding, “We will continue to analyze and evaluate the evidence in this case.”
Roof, an avowed white supremacist who appeared in photographs with the Confederate flag, had said he wanted to start a race war. Before opening fire at the church, Roof said, according to witnesses, “You rape our women, and you’re taking over our county. And you have to go.”
In the wake of the shooting, lawmakers in South Carolina and elsewhere have disavowed the Confederate battle flag, seen by many as an enduring symbol of racism. The South Carolina Senate voted Monday to remove the flag from the state capitol grounds in Columbia. The state House must approve the measure by a two-thirds majority before sending the legislation to Gov. Nikki Haley, who supports removing the flag.