Dylan Roof, 21, is the Charleston church shooting suspect. (Photo : Reuters)
Charleston church shooting suspect, Dylan Roof, heard forgiveness from his victim's families. He showed no emotion while hearing the anguished words of relatives of victims he gunned down at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Roof was accused of shooting nine people on June 17 inside the church where he was welcomed to join the Bible study.
A daughter of victim Ethel Lance said, "I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you, and have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people but God forgives you, and I forgive you."
Felicia Sanders, the mother of victim Tywanza Sanders and survivor of the church shooting herself, said, "Every fiber in my body hurts, and I will never be the same."
"As we said in the Bible study, we enjoyed you, but may God have mercy on you," Felicia added.
Anthony Thompson, the husband of slain Myra Thompson, also grant forgiveness to Roof. He also wanted to take this opportunity for Roof to repent, confess, give his life to the one who matters the most, Christ, so that he can change his ways, and no matter what happened, he would be okay, CNN reported.
Even President Barack Obama took to Twitter to give his reaction to Charleston church shooting. He tweeted, "In the midst of darkest tragedy, the decency and goodness of the American people shines through in these families."
Roof's family also spoke for the first time and extended their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims. They said that words cannot express their shock, grief and disbelief as to what happened that night. Devastated and saddened, they also offered prayers and sympathy to the victims.
According to ABC News, the justice department is expediting a $29 million grant as assistance to the victims.
Roof allegedly confessed to shooting nine people at the Charleston church. He was assigned a public defender, Ashley Pennington.
