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This image made from video shows Dylann Roof, 21, during a court appearance Friday in a Charleston court.(Photo: Screengrab from WLXT-TV in Columbia, S.C.)
CHARLESTON — Dylann Roof, who is charged with nine counts of murder in the attack on a historic black church, appeared wan and subdued Friday at a brief court hearing as relatives of some of the victims said they forgive him so that "hate doesn't win."
"You took something very precious to me, I will never talk to her again, never hold her again, but I forgive you," said the daughter of one of the victims, Ethel Lance. "You hurt me, you hurt a lot of people but God forgive you and I forgive you."
Appearing by video link from jail, the 21-year-old Roof, who was handcuffed and wore a striped jail jumpsuit, often pursed his lips, closed his eyes, or stared at the floor as the relatives of five victims spoke to the court at the bond hearing.
Roof's distinctive bowl hair, shown in surveillance photos outside the church on Wednesday, the night of the killings, was stringy and unkempt. He often appeared to take a sharp breath of air during the proceedings.
The sister of another victim, DePayne Middleton-Doctor, addressed the hearing amid sniffles and sobs in the tiny courtroom.
She said her sister "taught me me that we are the family that love built, we have no room for hate, so we have to forgive. And I pray to God for your soul and I also thank God that I will be around when your judgment day comes with Him. May God bless you."
Although the court legally could not issue any bond in on the murder charges, Magistrate James Gosnell Jr. set Roof's bond on a related weapons possession charge at $1 million.
Roof, who often swallowed hard as the judge asked questions, spoke only three times, in response to questions about his address, age and his job status.
Gosnell: Are you employed?
Roof: No, sir.
You are unemployed at this time?
Roof: yes, sir.
At the beginning of the emotional hearing, which lasted only 13 minutes, Gosnell addressed the court, saying Charleston is a strong, loving community with "big hearts." who would reach out to all the affected families.
"We are going to reach out to everyone, all the victims, and we will touch them," he said. "We have victims — nine of them — but we also have victims on the other side. There are victims on this young man's side .... We must find it in their heart to also help his family as well."
Roof was also charged with one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. Roof appeared in court Friday afternoon via video conference.
Roof was returned to South Carolina after waiving his extradition rights following his arrest Thursday near Shelby, N.C., about 245 miles northwest of Charleston.
Roof confessed to the shooting following his capture, a federal law enforcement official said Friday. The official declined to be identified because he is not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Gov. Nikki Haley, speaking on NBC's Today show on Friday, said that "we will absolutely will want him to have the death penalty" for the fatal shooting of nine members of a Bible study group at the Emanuel AME Church on Wednesday evening.
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., said at a news conference Friday that though he's not a proponent of the death penalty, it's the law in South Carolina and he expects it will be sought in the church shooting. "If you are going to have a death penalty, certainly this case would merit it," Riley said.
A note on the sidewalk includes photos of the nine who were killed at a memorial in front of the Emanuel AME Church on Friday, June 19, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Curtis Compton, AP)
Shelby police officials did not interview Roof formally, according to WBTV, a Charlotte TV station, which quotes an unidentified source as saying the suspect was videotaped during the entire time he was at the Shelby police department.
The source told WBTV that Roof spoke freely, told investigators he had been planning the attack for a period of time, had researched the Emanuel AME Church and targeted it because it was a historic African-American church.
According to WBTV's source, Roof told investigators he had a Glock handgun hidden behind a pouch he was wearing around his waist. He also told investigators he thought he'd only shot a few people and when told he actually had killed nine people, he appeared to be somewhat remorseful, according to the source.
During the recorded conversation, Roof reportedly told investigators he actually thought he would be caught in Charleston before fleeing and was headed to Nashville when he was captured.
When asked why he was going to Nashville, he reportedly told investigators "I've never been there before."
USA TODAY
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Charleston, South Carolina Mayor Joseph Riley said although he doesn't condone the death penalty, he thinks prosecutors will seek it in the Emanuel AME church shooting. VPC
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