Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Thursday confirmed that the Department of Justice has opened a hate crime investigation into the Charleston church mass shooting that left nine worshippers dead, and called the shooting a “barbaric act.”
Lynch, who addressed reporters at a press conference Thursday, called the attack “a crime that has reached into the heart of that community.” After her remarks, she confirmed that the 21-year-old suspect, Dylann Storm Roof, had been arrested by local law enforcement in North Carolina.
“This moves us into a different phase of the investigation which will be pursued as vigorously and with complete cooperation as with the apprehension of this individual,” Lynch said. “Now that we do have someone in custody, we will be exploring all the motives” behind the shooting.
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“Even as we struggle to comprehend this heartbreaking event, I want everyone in Charleston and everyone who has been affected by this tragedy to know that we will do everything in our power to help heal this community and make it whole again,” Lynch said.
Lynch is the first African-American woman to serve as U.S. attorney general.
