Dylann Roof
Dylann Roof carried out a racist attack that murdered nine Black worshipers during Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015.
At a glance
- What happened
- Roof entered the historic Black church and opened fire on the Bible-study gathering, killing nine people. Federal prosecutors identified racist hatred and an intention to inflame racial conflict as motives. A jury convicted him of federal hate crimes, obstruction of religious exercise, and firearms offenses.
- When
- June 17, 2015: attack. December 15, 2016: federal conviction. January 2017: death sentence. December 2024: excluded from federal death-sentence commutations.
- Where
- Emanuel AME Church, Charleston, South Carolina; federal trial in Charleston.
- Why / motive
- Federal prosecutors identified racist hatred and an intention to inflame racial tensions as motives.
- Outcome
- Roof received a federal death sentence in January 2017. AP reported that he was one of three federal prisoners excluded from the December 2024 commutations. This entry does not imply an execution has occurred.
Who is involved
- Dylann Roof — subject
Sources
- U.S. Department of Justice — Roof's racist murders“Motivated by racist hatred, Dylann Roof murdered and attempted to murder innocent African-American parishioners”
- AP — Federal death-sentence commutations, December 2024“Dylann Roof”
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