A 21-year-old man suspected of killing nine people at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, has been arrested.
Police said Dylann Roof, of Lexington, South Carolina, was detained during a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina.
The gunman is reported to have sat in on a Bible study meeting for a full hour before opening fire on the group.
Six women and three men, including the church pastor, were killed. A hate crimes investigation has been launched.
US President Barack Obama said he and his wife had known several members of the Emanuel AME Church, including the pastor, Clementa Pinckney.
He called the church a “sacred place” in the history of Charleston and spoke of his confidence that the congregation and the community would “rise again”.
He also raised the issue of gun ownership, saying: “At some point, we as a country have to reckon with the fact that this type of massacre does not happen in other advanced countries”.
