Dylann Roof Update: Shooter Tried To Kill Himself Inside Church, Ran Out Of Bullets
Additional information continues to surface regarding Dylann Roof, the man accused of killing nine people inside a South Carolina church. A loved one of a witness to the shootings says that Roof intended to kill himself after the shootings, but ran out of bullets.
Los Angeles Times reports that Kevin Singleton, 59, a magazine publisher, stated that Roof turned the gun on himself after shooting churchgoers at Charleston’s Emmanuel AME Church on Wednesday. However, after he aimed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger, he realized the chamber was empty.
“He pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger, but it went ‘click.’ His plan was never to leave that church.”
Singleton, who lost his mother, Myra Thompson, 59, during the shootings, indicates that Polly Sheppard, 69, one of the two adult survivors in the church, told him what happened. Sheppard isn’t giving comments to the media, but she let Singleton, along with his family members, in on the sordid details of the fateful day.
Roof’s primary intent, according to Singleton, was to shoot the church’s minister, Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74. Yet, when the minister grabbed ahold of him, Roof opened fired on other church members.
Prior to turning the gun on himself, Roof told Sheppard that he was sparing her so that she could tell everyone what happened. After Roof realized he was out of bullets, he ran from the church, but was caught the following day in North Carolina.
Singleton describes his mother as a peaceful school guidance counselor who believed in God and church. She spent her spare time writing motivational books before she was killed.
“She always wanted to teach the word of God. She was a very strong mom, no B.S.”
Roof attended his first bond hearing last week on a felony weapons charge. Although he appeared in a South Carolina courtroom via video for his own protection, family members of the victims were allowed to express their pain over the incident.
Several people told Roof that they had already forgiven him, even though the pain of losing their loved ones will always be there. Roof appeared emotionless, most looking toward the ground as the victims’ family members spoke to him.
Meanwhile, members of the Charleston community showed that love prevails and that the senseless killings would not allow them to stop worshipping. Emmanuel AME opened its doors for Sunday services today, where churchgoers filed in, still hurting from the emotional wounds caused last week.
Dylan Roof is being held in a South Carolina jail, with his felony weapons charge bond set at $1 million. He has a bond hearing for nine felony counts of murder next week, when a judge will decide what amount, if any, his bond amount will be set at.
