They say when police in Shelby pulled him over the morning after the shooting, he identified himself and complied with all orders.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – Incident reports released Thursday provide a sense of law enforcement’s first responses to what would turn out to be the massacre of nine black parishioners at a Charleston church.
Police discovered a Glock semiautomatic handgun under a pillow in the backseat of the auto, a report says.
In addition, according to police reports from Shelby, when officers came upon Roof’s auto – a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GLS – they searched him and told him “he was not under arrest … and that he was just being detained”.
Charleston Church Shooting Photo Gallery 1A survivor who was inside the church, called 911. Dozens of photographs have also been released, showing the church exterior and rooms in the church, but not the crime scene itself. She said she was hiding under a table, that a man had shot the pastor, and that he was still in the building. Officials did not release 911 calls and blocked much of the information in the documents. When asked how many shots were fired, she answered “so many”.
An entry one minute later said, “Young white male …”
A photograph released Thursday shows the vehicle in which 21-year-old suspect Dylann Roof was apprehended the day after the shooting in North Carolina.
A state judge earlier allowed the release of a few documents, but blocked release of audio, video and pictures identifying victims.
The release of information followed a Freedom of Information Act request.
Police said while the media and public have an interest in information about the case, those interests are not served by releasing gory videos and photographs.
Bryant also wrote that the Victims’ Bill of Rights protects the “victims’ rights to justice and due process” and requires victims “be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment…through the criminal justice process”.
Police also say the “premature release of such records, to be used in prospective law enforcement action, could harm the ongoing investigation into the events that occurred before, during and after the incident”.
Roof is accused of killing nine people at the church following a Bible study.
Dylann Roof, 21, has been charged with murder and state prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Roof has also been indicted by a federal grand jury on hate crime charges resulting in death and religious freedom violations.
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This is a developing story.
