The question is often asked in the somber aftermath of a shooting massacre: how many deaths will it take before America changes its gun laws?
And while a political solution remains elusive, mass killings such as those in Charleston, Chattanooga and Lafayette continue with alarming frequency across the U.S. — a recent study found one occurs in America every two weeks.
But for Australia, a single massacre changed everything.
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Martin Bryant pleaded guilty to all 35 murders at Port Arthur. Reuters
A grand jury has indicted Dylann Roof, the confessed gunman who killed nine people during a Bible study at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina on 33 federal counts including hate crime charges, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced on Wednesday.
Roof, 21, went on what federal authorities are calling a “racially motivated” shooting spree during the June 17 rampage at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Roof faces state charges including nine counts of murder, is being held without bond and has a tentative trial date of July 11, 2016.
Chanting “Bring it down!”, hundreds of people rallied Tuesday at the South Carolina State House to demand that the Confederate battle flag be removed from the grounds.
They pushed for state lawmakers to follow a call by Gov. Nikki Haley to remove the flag after a white gunman slaughtered nine black people, including a state senator, at a church in Charleston last week.
“It’s time for South Carolina to get past its history,” said J. Elliott Summey, president of the Charleston County Council. “History belongs in a place. It belongs in a museum, not on sovereign ground.”
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GOP State Sen.: Confederate Flag is a ‘Constant Reminder of Pain’
Andre McPherson has been coming to the Emanuel AME Church here off and on since 2003. His visit on Thursday night was his first in a couple of years, he said with a hint of guilt, but he felt he owed it to the church leaders and congregation to stop by.
In his more trying days when he was homeless, McPherson said, he often found himself at the doorstep of what’s known as “Mother Emanuel.” The Charleston resident credits the historic African-American church with helping him get off of drugs.
“This church helped me get me life together,” McPherson, 44, said through tears. “It helped me go back to my kids. It helped me get away from a certain street mentality. It helped me have pride.”
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Image: Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post.
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Nine people were shot to death by a white man at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night — rocking a nation already grappling with institutional racism and race-related violence.
The gunman entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a weekly Bible study meeting and opened fire around 9 p.m. Eight people were found dead at the scene, police said. Two others were transported to a hospital, where one later died.
The suspect, named as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, was captured Thursday morning in Shelby, North Carolina, according to Attorney General Loretta Lynch. According to Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen, Roof was arrested during a traffic stop.
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Suspect Appears To Wear Apartheid Flag on Jacket In Photo
CBS, CNN, NBC: Suspect Arrested
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Martin Bryant pleaded guilty to all 35 murders at Port Arthur. Reuters
Dylann Storm Roof
Image: Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post.
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